Path to Tamaran
by Adamant Eve aka anna-neko
Summary: In this sequel to "Guiding Star", Starfire comes face to face with her past, forcing her to come to grips with the possibilities of the future. Robin and Starfire test the strength of their love in this tale that spans the Titan-verse.
1. Seeing the Past

Dear New Reader,

_Path to Tamaran_ starts where _Guiding Star_ left off, so I invite you to read _Guiding Star _first. It's only twenty-one chapters long… :laughs: Okay, so its length is a bit much, but hey, I love to write. What can I do? _Guiding Star_ isn't so bad, anyway. I could promise you that much.

Yours, in humble service,

Anna-neko

Standard disclaimers apply.

**PATH TO TAMARAN**

(Part II of the _Guiding Star_ trilogy)

**Chapter One – Seeing the Past**

It was that strange scent again. That sanitized; sterilized tang that attempted to smell like nothing but smelled like _something. _It wanted to convey health; instead, it was a reminder that things had to be disinfected.

The sound of machinery was getting on Starfire's nerves. The incessant beeping and ringing threatened to torment her forever and she had dour predictions about the noise invading her dreams for weeks on end.

The sheets beneath and around her were starchy. The hospital gown she wore did not fit well at all. She squirmed, attempting to scratch at the IV needle inserted in the vein behind her hand. Everything felt like it needed to be scratched.

They had explained to her the procedure; perhaps believing that telling her what they were going to do would make her feel more comfortable about the entire thing. What she had been too polite to say was that she _did not_ want to know that they would be sticking needles and things beneath her skin. She did not want to know that possibly, an incision would have to be made. She did not want to know that they would be poking and prodding.

Starfire, gone of her eyesight for almost half a year, thought that the exciting possibility of regaining her vision would get her through the little emotional quirks she was currently experiencing, but she was overwhelmed with unease.

_"While we've simulated the procedure as best we could" _said the scientist who had been tasked to explain everything to her. _"It bears mentioning that this is the first time we would be performing this on a live specimen."_

She had been grossly uncomfortable about being referred to as a "live specimen" as if she had been swabbed off something and wiped on a glass slide. But she had said nothing, having been overwhelmed by the scientist's previous narration of needles, incisions and suturing.

The scientist, oblivious to the turmoil he was causing within her, had continued, his voice betraying that he was extremely pleased with himself. _"Suffice it to say, this entire procedure has been exhaustively tailored to you and your Tamaranian physical profile, down to the last fiber optic we'll be using. So unless you grew a second head while we weren't looking, everything should go as planned. You have nothing to worry about. As it is, even if a procedure like this normally doesn't require general anesthesia, or _going under _as we say in hip doc talk—" _he had laughed, but she hadn't been quite as amused_ "—the psychiatrist who performed your psycho-analysis strongly recommended that you be unconscious the entire time. Apparently, you do not respond well to invasive procedures of any kind. I'm rather queasy about going to the dentist myself."_

Starfire wanted to tell him that it _wasn't the same_ but indeed, she didn't want to be rude to someone who meant so well.

Truly, everything they told her about the operation gave emphasis to something she had known since she left Tamaran: That she was different from everyone else.

She would let them do what they had to do; she trusted them, but until they had gassed her, she did not have to be thrilled about it.

Everyone assured her that she would have the best medical and scientific doctors attending to her welfare. She had told herself over and over that she should be reassured by that alone, for she was in no ordinary hospital; she was in a high-tech Wayne Enterprises medical facility.

"Kori" said Robin in a soft, soothing voice beside her. She felt his hand on her arm, squeezing gently. "Relax."

His touch and words, however brief, eased her a bit. She was glad he was there, at least until they wheeled her out of pre-op.

"I am relaxed." She knew she wasn't going to convince anyone, the way she said it.

"Your hands are cold."

Her hand was suddenly enveloped in the warmth of his own.

The back of his other hand rubbed gently against her cheek and his lips touched hers briefly.

By his actions, she knew they were alone.

Robin, known also as the Boy Wonder; to those closest to him as Richard John Grayson, was the leader of Jump City's team of teen superheroes, the Titans. He was demanding and tough, sometimes expecting more than any of them thought possible, but he was dependable and brilliant, fearless and competent. He leapt off cliffs and buildings; jumped chasms; fought off giant, cocoon-eating monsters and oozing, acidic mutants. And he was human. He had no super-powers, no meta-human abilities, just his skill, his strength and his dynamite will. He had nerves of steel but he had a heart softer than he'd care to admit.

For many, it was difficult to believe that there was even a tender side to him. But there was, and in their moments of privacy, he was never one to hold back.

As a lover, he was thoughtful; considerate; passionate; all-consuming. He could shape her desire with his words and his touch. He could make her feel beautiful and cherished, yet he could inspire her strength and independence.

Sometimes, Starfire wondered what she had done for him.

"Richard, you will be watching them while they are operating on me, yes? You will watch out for me?"

"I won't be in the same room, but I'll be watching through the glass. Are you worried they'll mess up?"

She could hear the grin in his tone. She wished she could tell him that she felt nauseated at the thought of being in a room full of strangers while they poked inside her head with instruments, but she didn't want to worry him with her complaints. "I—maybe." She tried to look better disposed, if only for him.

"You're in good hands, Kori. They're the best in their respective fields."

Starfire nodded.

He leaned over, so he could speak more softly. "You know, when they begin to put you to sleep, the last thought you have will be what you dream about, so you should think really nice thoughts."

She smiled mischievously, some of her fears easing off. "I will think of you then… and last night."

"Then I'd say that would be a very, very… very good dream."

A soft giggle escaped her.

Footsteps clopped from the door and she could make out that there was more than one stride.

"Good morning, Kori. It's been a while since we saw each other. Hope you still remember me." The woman's tone was mildly teasing and while the voice was powerfully familiar, it didn't register all at once. The answer, however, came quickly enough. She would certainly be ashamed of herself if she didn't remember who it was.

Robin confirmed her identity a second later. "Hi there, Dr. Meridian."

"Nice of you to join us this morning, Dick."

Starfire smiled, feeling Dr. Meridian's friendly caress on the other side of her. "Hello, Dr. Meridian."

"Kori, I'd like you to meet Dr. George Leeman. He will be your anesthesiologist for today."

From what the doctors have told her, anesthesiologists played a critical role in an operation. They could spell the difference between sleep and death, which was why they were paid lots and lots of money to do their jobs well.

Starfire politely stuck her hand out for a shake and she felt the unfamiliar grip of Dr. Leeman. His hand was warm; soft for a man's. Perhaps he moisturized.

"It's nice to meet you, Kori" said Dr. Leeman. "My, my. You look even more fabulous in person than you do in print."

It was too lavish a compliment from someone she only just met, and ordinarily, she would consider it a "pick-up" line, but strangely enough, it didn't sound that way coming from Dr. Leeman.

"And I think you know Dick Grayson" said Dr. Meridian.

Dr. Leeman sighed. "Until now, only in my dreams. How _do_ you _do, _Mr. Grayson? Very well, I believe?"

Starfire thought _that_ sounded like a pick-up line.

Robin didn't seem the least bit fazed. "Hiya, Dr. Leeman. It's been a while."

"Too long, I think. You've _grown_ from the time you were nicking laughing gas from my lab"

"Eh, it happens. By the way, you look beautiful, today, Dr. Leeman. That hair suits you."

"Why, thank you, baby. But I think you're only saying that because I'll be drugging your girlfriend."

"Kori's… very special. You'll take care of her?"

"Don't worry, hon. Georgie's at the helm and I'll let nothing bad happen to her under my watch. But really now, be honest. Do you really like this color on me?"

"Gorgeous. Brings out your eyes."

Dr. Leeman laughed boisterously. "Ah! A scandalous flatterer! You've come a long way since you were twelve, young man. Well, now, Kori, my love! How would you like your cocktail this morning? Gotham Supreme with a twist? Or maybe I could make it a nice Superhero Daiquiri?"

Starfire was terribly perplexed. This man was flirting with her Robin and he was calling her his love. It didn't make her feel particularly uncomfortable, which was perhaps the most confusing thing of all. Besides that, she did not know what these cocktails were. Was she even supposed to be ingesting alcohol this early in the morning? And before an operation, too!

"Oh, Georgie, stop it" said Dr. Meridian in a mildly scolding tone. "You're confusing the girl."

Dr. Leeman sighed. "Oh, very well. _I'll_ decide the mix for you. Kori, darling, trust me. You'll love the Gotham Supreme."

"I-I will?"

"Ah! It's to die for. You know those dreams you wake up from, just when you get to the good part? _This_ gets you to the good part, pronto."

The thought actually made Starfire blush. She hoped the others wouldn't notice.

"Give me a moment."

Robin leaned over her, speaking in her ear. "I think Dr. Leeman's getting things ready. They'll be rolling you out of here in a minute so I'll just be outside—"

Before she could stop herself, she made a desperate grab for his wrist. "N-No. Stay. Please? Just—just until I'm asleep."

He said nothing for a few heartbeats. Whether it was because he was confused by her apparent fear or whether it was something else altogether, she couldn't be sure.

"Okay" he said in a soothing tone. Reassured, her grip eased. "It's okay. I'll stay right here until you're under. It's going to be alright."

"Easy does it, love," said Dr. Leeman. "I'm going to put a mask over you and you just have to breathe easy, okay?" He held a mask over her nose and mouth, the lining soft; molding to the curves and planes of her face. "Mr. Grayson?"

"Yeah"

"Count it down for her. She's a little tense and maybe your voice would help. Start at ten."

Starfire would have to thank the good doctor later for being sensitive to her needs. Robin leaned even closer. She could almost feel his lips on her ear. His soft tone was lulling as he began to count down from ten.

She smiled sleepily; it was like his voice was a balm to her tightened nerves. She didn't know how far he got; whether he even got down to one. Perhaps even before he was halfway through, she was asleep.

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_The sheets were dowdy and soft on her skin; the pillow supporting her head luxuriously warm. She giggled as she felt the brush of his breath just beneath her ear, his lips nipping at the line of her jaw._

_She slid her arms up his shoulders, pressing a cherishing hand to his nape. He had removed his jacket, tossing it carelessly to the side of the bed, but his sweater was still on. Depending on how the mood of the evening progressed, she didn't know how long either of them would stay clothed. _

_He gave a sigh, but it wasn't an unhappy one. He settled a bit to her side, nuzzling the crook of her neck and shoulder._

_They were twined around each other, as if they were in danger of falling off the sides of the bed, but they were in no such peril. The Wayne Manor did not keep small beds. In fact, the Wayne Manor kept _huge_ beds. Tangling with each other was optional, but it was an option they readily chose. _

_"God, you smell good," he said. His tone was relaxed; content. This was cuddle time. _

_She smiled, tracing her fingers through his thick black hair. She recalled the conversation at the dinner table and she chuckled. "Why are you and Bruce so mean to one another?"_

_"Me? Mean to Bruce? I'm the perfect angel with him."_

_Sometimes, she could not tell if he was joking. "You called him a self-absorbed, fortune-one-hundred snot."_

_"I did? Eh, must've been the wine speaking."_

_"You took wine?"_

_"Alfred said I could have a little, for the steak."_

_Starfire honestly did not think that Robin drank enough wine to be forgetting the things he said to Bruce Wayne, but she deferred from saying so. "The funny thing is Bruce baits you to say these things. It is like he finds amusement in having you disparage him."_

_"Possibly. He has to endure countless hours of butt-kissing in the office. I suppose you could say I'm a breath of fresh_ something _when I give him attitude."_

_"It is difficult to understand your relationship."_

_"Don't look at me for an explanation; I'm just his ex-side-kick."_

_"Oh, but Richard, Bruce is—"_

_"Going to leave this conversation. Bye, bye, Bruce."_

_She sighed but respected his wish not to discuss it. That was the way with Robin. She had to know when to stop insisting. While she understood at a certain level that Bruce and Robin did actually like and respect each other, she couldn't understand how one or the other could keep believing it, arguing and disagreeing all the time. Her emotions were always so plain to see, and it was much easier that way. Why complicate matters?_

_Starfire tried a different subject matter. "I was hoping we would see Babs again. I was disappointed to learn that she would be in New Orleans until next month."_

_"She's always haring off to some place or another. She's busy, that way." _

_She felt him take her hand and she let him. He traced the lines on her palm before he threaded his fingers through hers. _

_"You know what? I don't want to talk about Babs, either. I just want to talk about you," he said, rising above her. The tone he had used was light but promising. Tingles skipped down her back and she smiled, biting gently on her lower lip._

_He kissed her and an instant flash of heat rose in her cheeks. It was a kiss that sent her toes curling and by the time it was over, she was practically gone of her senses. She had been afraid that he had wanted to talk about her operation the next morning; that she would have to tell him how a slight panic crept up on her every time it was mentioned, but the kiss had settled her quite thoroughly. There would be no discussions about operations tonight. Tonight, Robin was going to give her the comfort she craved. _

_Her captured hand was pressed back against the pillows, and then his lips were on her other ear, kissing softly before he spoke. "I was watching you at desert this evening. You _liked_ those chocolate truffles..."_

_His breath was hot and her skin grew more sensitive to it. Her breath already betrayed a catch. "I did…"_

_She could feel him stretch, as if he were reaching for something somewhere in the vicinity of his jacket, and then his warmth was beside her again. _

_He laughed softly. "I have a knack for knowing what you like."_

_She felt something silky against her lips, and when she tasted, the incredible sweetness of chocolate spread on her tongue. She smiled, taking half of the offered chocolate, but she was delighted by the feel of his lips, closing in on hers. It was the sweetest, most stimulating kiss she had ever had the pleasure of sharing with him. _

_When no trace of the chocolate was left, Starfire did not need another piece. If Robin wanted to be in charge that night, she had no objections. He had her and she was perfectly happy with that arrangement. _

_He had used chocolate, and even Tamaranians couldn't resist chocolate…_

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_"…chocolate ice-cream, with sprinkles"_

_Starfire smiled wanly, touched by Beast Boy's attempts to cheer her up. Her shift on the Blackfire Watch was coming to an end and he was next. In the last five minutes, he had been trying everything in his power to make her laugh. And while she did manage to laugh; if only to reward his efforts, he could very well see that she was merely being polite to him. _

_His final effort had been to offer making a "huge pile of chocolate ice-cream, with sprinkles." She wished she could say yes, but she was not in the mood. _

_It had been a week since she told the other titans about her sister, and while this was the third time she had sat on a shift since Cyborg set up the program for the Blackfire Watch, she still felt somewhat depressed sitting there, praying that Blackfire would _not _do anything to prove her fears true. _

_Beast Boy gave a whine, slumping on the chair beside her. "Come on, Starfire. Don't look like that, or I'm going to start thinking that Robin and Raven are contagious, and that they should both be quarantined for spreading Syndromus Angstinomus."_

_Starfire processed Beast Boy's words and laughed several seconds later, when she understood it. _

_Beast Boy let loose a hyena-like giggle. "That was so delayed, but it was the first real laugh I got out of you. I think this is going to work. Why did the chicken?"_

_"Beast Boy, the chicken jokes, I still fail to understand. You must quit while you are ahead."_

_"Er, right. Say, Starfire. Wanna talk about it?"_

_She was confused. "About the chicken jokes?"_

_Beast Boy sighed. "I'm crap at this talking stuff, aren't I? I didn't mean the chicken jokes. I meant _this._ You and Blackfire and this Blackfire Watch. Every time I see you sitting here—well, you look like someone died… "_

_She contemplated telling him that she _did_ feel like someone had died. Whether it was her or Blackfire, she couldn't yet tell for sure. _

_"I'm no shrink, but I've—you know—felt betrayal too…"_

_It gave Starfire pause; what he said. She had almost forgotten about Beast Boy and Terra. She had almost forgotten how Beast Boy had felt the brunt of Terra's betrayal most of all. _

_She hadn't considered her feelings for Blackfire as betrayal, but now that Beast Boy said it, she wondered why she hadn't thought of it that way. She had considered it a loss; a severing of blood ties; Blackfire's efforts to hurt her; to get her back for the time their parents had thought Blackfire dispensable because she, Starfire, had been proclaimed crown princess. She hadn't stopped to realize that in spite of all the blame Starfire was heaping on herself, she had feelings of betrayal as well. _

_Blackfire, the sister she had loved unconditionally for most of her life, didn't need her affection. Blackfire had tossed that love back to her repeatedly, had gone so far as framing her for a stolen diamond, trying to drive her away from her friends, and now, whatever Blackfire planned to do, it was because she hated Starfire enough to do it. _

_"When you found out about Terra's betrayal," she began slowly. "What was the first thought that came to your head?"_

_"Other than 'She betrayed me?'"_

_She smiled. "Yes."_

_"That I've lost her. I've lost her forever."_

_"Did you not hope that she would… come back to us?"_

_"Nah. Maybe later, when she was trying to atone for what she did, but even then I hadn't believed it… until she was—well, turned to stone."_

_Starfire nodded, sadly. "I have lost my sister."_

_Beast Boy sighed, the sympathy apparent in his voice. She felt his hand on her shoulder; his gesture of comfort and understanding. "Bummer."_

_"Agreed."_

_"Are you sure you don't want that chocolate ice-cream"_

_She smiled. Perhaps a chocolate ice-cream would help…_

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Help, _she had whispered. She wasn't sure in what language she said it. In the past few years, she had absorbed so many that maybe—just maybe, her mind had gone on overload. _

_She tried to re-orient herself. She was approximately twenty-six light years away from the Vegan Star System. Give or take another .0006073 light years. This was a system comprising of nine planets orbiting around a star they called "Sol"._

Solar System.

_If she remembered correctly, she was on the third planet from Sol. It was a planet comprising mostly of blue water. There was land mass above the water, but it only amounted to twenty percent of the planet. Later, she would learn that they called this planet Earth. _

_Some parts of the land were barren while others were thriving cities. She had first landed in a sector they called "France" and she was glad to note that obtaining their language posed little problem. She had searched for an affable individual; one who would seem least likely to turn her away. She found one, male, sitting in a booth, a line of females stretching several meters. Surely, one who called such attention wouldn't mind the extra attentions of an alien._

_She fell in line and she tried to ignore the strange looks she was getting from everyone. She smiled at them shyly, hoping no one would speak to her until she could learn their language. _

_When she got to the head of the line, she was dismayed when the affable man began to speak to her. She was at a loss. He seemed amused and he gestured for her gently to come closer. She did and she felt his lips on her. His tongue soon followed and instantly, she caught the language. _

_She was mortified to be kissed so brazenly, though, so she pulled away, taking off as quickly as she came. _

_It was only later in her flight that she considered the possibility that the man was merely greeting her; that it was Earth custom to introduce one's self with a kiss. It then occurred to her that if Earth proved to be accepting of her, she would have to adapt to its customs, strange as they might be. _

_Embarrassed by her haste in France, she sought another sector, preferably one as far away from France as possible. There was a continent in the East. They had built a wall visible from space and it seemed far enough from France. But sometime during the trip, she had lost her way, stumbled into what was called a "storm" and crashed in a sector she was unfamiliar with. It couldn't have been that far away from France. She hadn't been flying long. _

Help…_ she had said. Probably in French. She didn't know anymore._

_She heard voices, the language of which was different. She wondered why Earth would have so many languages in one planet, but decided a few seconds later that the question was irrelevant._

_Cautiously, she rose from the crater her crash had created, pushing herself off the soft, loamy soil. Clearing her head, she looked around her and found herself in what she could only describe as a yard of sorts. It had a perimeter gate, spanning several square meters all around, and beyond it were tall, vertical structures made of stone, steel and glass. It was fascinating to see them put so closely together, as if there was no other space to put them. _

_But the landscape held her attention for only a moment. The voices she had heard drew closer and she turned, realizing the sound was coming from behind._

_Four Earthlings were standing behind her, just at the lip of her crater. They were saying something, and of course, she couldn't understand the words._

_They were dressed strangely; so much more different from the other Earthlings she had seen. And the one speaking to her, one who looked like a leader of sorts by his manner and stance, wore a mask. Was there something wrong with his eyes? _

_There was a green one, and he transformed into a life-form that had a tail that wagged vigorously back and forth. Its tongue lolled out of the side of its maw, like it was thirsty, and then it barked pertly._

_It startled her, and she wondered if all Earthlings could change shape. The leader said something stern and the green one returned to his original form, looking somewhat shame-faced._

_The leader cautiously slid into the crater, approaching her with hands held up, like he was showing her that he was hiding nothing; possibly a gesture to show that he wasn't going to hurt her. _

_So long traveling in unfriendly territories, it was enough for her. Remembering the episode in France, she jumped to her feet, swooped into his arms and tried to kiss him. The contact of their skin was enough to teach her the language he spoke, and suddenly, there was meaning behind his words._

_"Whoa! Hey" he yelled, stumbling back. _

_The force of their contact had sent both of them sprawling to the floor, but he recovered quickly, scrambling backwards and getting to his feet. _

_The Earthlings behind him tensed, going into what she could tell was a battle stance._

_Starfire's broad grin disappeared and she watched them with growing confusion._

_He stared at her behind his odd mask. He was wary and it made her confused. Did she not proffer the proper greeting? Perhaps she had done it wrong? It was best to wait for his response before she gave kisses to the rest of them. She wondered if she would have to make the same greeting to the female. The female certainly didn't look very friendly. _

_"Who are you?" His tone was not friendly. She could tell even then._

_She was beginning to feel apprehensive about what she had done. She was now certain she had made some kind of mistake. "I—I am called Starfire. I am—I am sorry if I have offended you. Was that not a proper greeting for Earthlings? Please, I am new to this planet and I thought…" She began to feel ashamed and she shrank back, twiddling her fingers. Fitting in was never one of her strong points. She had offended enough cultures to know that leaving as soon as possible was the best option. She did not want to cause anyone any trouble. "I will go now."_

_"Wait."_

_Starfire was startled by the voice. It was deliberate; firm. It was from the female. _

_The female looked to the leader. "Robin, she's confused; will continue to be confused. We can't let her go like this."_

_Starfire looked at her with renewed fascination. There was no hint of compassion from the sullen woman, yet she was proposing to take Starfire in for the meantime. Perhaps the woman was friendlier than she first supposed._

_"She won't hurt us" she continued. "I feel nothing in her to suggest that she's the type."_

_Robin nodded. "Starfire, my name is Robin. This is Raven, Cyborg and Beast Boy. We're the Titans and we're not going to hurt you. Do you need help?"_

_She swallowed, startled by the unexpected turn of events. _

_Help? Did she need help? _

_They were the first words that past her lips when she landed and that seemed evidence enough. She nodded mutely._

_"Then come with us. We could help you."_

_He extended a gloved hand. She looked at it, awed by the realization that it was the first welcoming gesture she had encountered in years…_

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_… years go by so slowly when it was filled with pain._

_She opened her eyes, noting the prickly hay beneath her. _

_Starfire saw booted feet; several of them; and with a sudden wave of panic, she realized that she had been found out. _

_Scrambling to get up, she sprung from her crudely constructed cot. She charged her hands and they glowed green. Her one thought was to get away and she cursed herself for having overslept._

_Sleep hadn't completely left her, having been so rudely roused. So she was slow to react. She felt someone clamp a hand to the back of her neck then force her face down on the hay. She released her star bolts on pure instinct, but the direction they took did not help her in the least. The bolt shattered the gate of a nearby stall and the beast of burden behind it gave an agitated whine. _

_The person who caught her cursed, calling her a Tamaranian menace. He ordered his companions to tie her hands behind her back and she was dismayed at how strong they were. Few races in the Vegan Star System were stronger than Tamaranians, and while Kalapattian men weren't as strong as Tamaranian males, one on one, they were formidable enough against a Tamaranian female; overwhelming, three to one._

_With her thus restrained, the one who held her by the neck turned her over. _

_She saw then that he was young. Not as young as she was, for she had only turned fourteen if she had counted the planetary cycles right. This man looked closer to nineteen, or twenty, but she could be wrong. He could be younger. He had long, curly brown hair and chiseled features. Even with her limited knowledge of Kalapattians, she could tell that this one was a superior specimen of his race; aesthetically pleasing and strong. His compassion, however, left little to be desired. _

_"Ugh" said the man. "She's filthy! Probably lice infested! Whose watch was it last night and how the hell did this little wench get past him?"_

_It grated at her, to be called a little wench. She had endured demeaning names for far too long. At last she was free from bondage and she did not have to put up with it any longer. She gritted her teeth and glared at him, tied as she was. "I am _not_ a little wench!"_

_"Oh X'Hal, she talks! Talking little wenches are the worse."_

_His words and manner irked her even more. He need not treat her like a disease. She hadn't done anything particularly unsavory. Would it have hurt him to offer her a bit of common courtesy? She kicked and she caught him soundly between his legs. _

_He growled in pain and outrage, cursing his men for having forgotten to tie her ankles together, calling them and her all sorts of names._

_She struggled to get free, but they were too strong, and her efforts were futile. Angry, frustrated and helpless, Starfire did the only thing she could do: She spat into her captor's face. _

_Things did not go well from there. _

_He was so angry that he told everyone that he would deal with her himself. Grabbing her by the scruff of her neck, he hauled her out of the strange, alien barn and stalked into another structure. The ground was abrasive against her behind as he dragged her, kicking and screaming. _

_He ignored her curses to his lineage as her voice echoed through out a dark hallway. When he got to the end of it, there was a strange door, ancient by the look of it, though she had little idea about Kalapattian architecture. _

_When the strange door opened, her senses were assaulted by various odors and sights. She had seen such a place before, and she marveled momentarily at the universal quality to dungeon keeping. _

_She kicked and screamed louder. _

_The man brought her to a cell. It was unoccupied, and it actually looked somewhat new. He slid the door to the cell open, hauled her to her feet then pushed her inside. She fell, of course, but at least he had aimed her towards the bunk bed. Her landing was relatively soft. _

_He went to her. "Don't give me any trouble, wench. I don't have to put up with your tantrums, and until I know what we should do with you, you're staying right here. Don't try to blast your way out because the walls have been proofed against little nuisances like you. Sit still! Do you hear me? No one's going to hurt you if you behave. Are you hungry?"_

_She was, but she wasn't going to give him the satisfaction of admitting it. She glared at him. _

_"Miserable wench," he hissed. "I'll send some food over, anyway. I'm going to cut you loose, but you have to promise me that you won't try to attack me again. Do you promise?"_

_Starfire considered being stubborn about this as well, but she was already feeling numb at the extremities. The ropes had been tied on too tight. Blood-flow was being cut. It would be nice to spend the rest of her wait at least with her hands and feet untied. _

_Warily, she nodded. "I promise" she said in a subdued tone._

_The man whipped out a knife and he cut her loose with strangely fancy maneuvering. She stared at the quickness of his hands._

_Probably noticing her awe, he cocked a smile. "Bet you never saw that before, huh?"_

_She recovered from her stupor and dealt him another glare. "I have seen better." _

_He snorted. "Ornery little bitch, aren't you? Well, sit tight. You're not going anywhere." He stood and turned to leave. _

_She watched him go, finally noticing that he had a way of carrying himself; that his clothes looked particularly expensive. _

_She knew, then, that she had just spat upon the face of nobility…_

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_… nobility was in her blood, and while she did not look it when Karras so rudely discovered her in the barn, it might have shown in her bearing when she faced the Queen who had introduced herself as Salja. The queen, after all, did not look like the type to rescue decrepit slaves. _

_Queen Salja had crouched down to look at her pitifully dirty face. She showed no compassion, but she did not look hostile, either. She had swiped out a handkerchief and used it to take Starfire's wrists. The queen held her wrist up to the light. She sighed upon seeing the rope burns. "Well, you're quite the sorry sight, aren't you? Karras, what have you done to this girl?"_

_Karras, the same man who had caught Starfire sleeping in the barn, snorted. "I haven't done anything to her. If anything, she's the one who kicked up a fuss. Damn snipe…"_

_Queen Salja rolled her eyes before looking to Starfire again. "Young lady, what is your name?" _

_Starfire hadn't been thinking at the time; mesmerized by the grandeur and beauty of the queen. She told the truth, forgetting that they just might recognize her. "K-Koriand'r."_

_"A fine name. Better than Snipe, I must say. Do you wish to get clean, Koriand'r?"_

_"Y-Yes, Your Majesty."_

_"Hmm! Not quite as rude as Karras claimed you were! Have they fed you, Koriand'r?"_

_"Yes, Your Majesty."_

_"Then come with me. They don't have baths here at the dungeon."_

_Karras reacted quickly. "B-But mother!"_

_"Hush! I do not see this child being hostile unless provoked. I shudder at the handling you must have dealt her this morning."_

_"She was firing bolts!"_

_Queen Salja ignored her son. "Get up, child. You are filthy and you need cleaning. On our way up, touch nothing. Do not touch me; do not touch my robes. Until you are clean, keep your hands to yourself. Is that understood?"_

_"Yes, Your Majesty." While Starfire was aware that the queen was perhaps a bit snooty, she was gratefulfor the relatively kind gesture and she was relieved that she hadn't been recognized in the slightest. It also gave her a sense of satisfaction to see Karras so annoyed by the treatment his mother was giving her. _

_As Queen Salja led her out of the cell, Starfire looked over her shoulder at Karras. She flashed him a sneer. _

_It produced the desired effect. His nostrils flared in irritation. Starfire swore that if Karras had his way at that very minute, he would have grabbed her by the neck and throttled her…_

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_…her time was up._

_Six months was not a bad period. It was the most time she had spent in one place since she first got away from the Citadel, and while it had been years since the Tamaranian empire spoke of their princesses and what-not, someone was bound to find her out, sooner or later._

_She felt that the easy life she was leading in Queen Salja's castle had been too good to be true, anyway, Karras' unpleasant disposition aside. _

_She served as one of the Queen's ladies in waiting, and while she got a small allowance for her efforts, she did not feel like a slave. She had decent living quarters; was made to sit at the table for meals; was given fine clothes to wear and was even allowed to entertain suitors in the receiving room. It was a nice existence, and she could see herself living it for quite some time._

_Her relationship with the rough prince, however, had _not_ improved in the slightest over the course of the last six months, but it wasn't as if she cared. She disliked him as much as he disliked her, and while they made every effort to stay out of each other's way, sometimes, encounters couldn't be helped. They were civil in the company of others, downright spiteful when they had to deal with each other in private. She haddiscovered that he was seventeen; young enough to be irritable with a fourteen year old like her and old enoughfor everything else.He was insufferable._

_He continued to call her wench, but she had come up with a plethora of demeaning names for him and him alone. _

_Two months ago, their argument became terribly heated, and for some reason, weapons had been drawn. Truth be told, she drew first, knowing that he was capable enough to defend himself. She just needed to vent her frustration of him, and she had attacked with no intent to kill. _

_Surprisingly, he took the attack for what it was and while they were both spurned by anger, there was no murderous intent behind their strikes, blocks and parries. To insult her, he had clamped his hands where no self-respecting lady would allow, so she retaliated by tossing her weapon aside and biting him on the shoulder. His howl of outrage rang through out the castle, and pushing her away, he stormed off, leaving her supremely agitated._

_Perhaps her skill in fighting had given him cause for suspicion. He, like many royal brats of the Vegan worlds, had been sent to the Warlords of Okaara. Likely, he had recognized her fighting style, bolts, blades and all. It was him, after all, who discovered that she was the missing crown princess of Tamaran. _

_Upon telling her, it was evident that his contempt of her hadn't been reduced in the slightest. Up until then, she thought he would have been much more polite if he had known about her status as crown princess. It was not the case. He still treated her like the dirt beneath his shoe and he unapologetically commented that the sooner she was out of his castle, the better. He told her he had sent a message to Tamaran, reporting her whereabouts._

_She understood that it wasn't exactly spite that drove him to report her. It was only natural for him to believe that she would want to go back to her home planet. He had, in fact, told her that she could've just asked them to send her back to Tamaran, and they would have done it without question, whether or not she was a princess. _

_What he didn't know was that she _didn't _want to go back to Tamaran. She didn't want to go back to her parents, and it was nobody's business to know why. _

_Late that evening, exactly six months after she first set foot in Kalapatt, she left it. _

_She offered her thanks to the King and Queen, of course, for having taken care of her. She had expressed her thanks in a note, along with the one thing she had bought from her saved coffers: an elegant lady's knife. It was not much, but it was all she could afford. _

_With a heavy heart, she made her way to the nearest stargate. She wasn't sure where it led, but she was past caring. She just needed to get away. _

_After she emerged from the other end of the stargate, it would be another week through space, going from planet to planet, before she found the terrestrial planet of blue, white and green. She would later discover that it was called Earth; later still, she would be properly introduced to the Earthling named Robin…_

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_…Robin chuckled softly. _

_She moved her fingers and let the pads of it run on the soft skin of his lips. Her hands were suddenly enveloped in his, pulling them over and behind his shoulders so that he could take her in a kiss. _

_She sank into his arms and the overwhelming feeling of being cherished swept through her. She did not know how he did it. Perhaps it was the firm way he held her. Perhaps it was the deep intimacy of the kiss, but she felt wanted, and loved. _

_When they separated, breathless, he didn't let her go._

_It was just as well. She wanted to stay right where she was._

_Foreheads touching, she smiled, her unseeing eyes blinking languorously. Her lips felt oddly numb, but it wasn't unpleasant. If possible, she would like for him to kiss her again. _

_"It is nice to be more than friends," she teased gently, tilting her face to rub noses with him._

_He let her. "Yeah. Don't know what took me so long to figure it out."_

_She giggled softly. "Well…" She was about to say something more when he kissed her, perhaps to keep her from making any smart-ass comments. The kiss was quick, and she complained mildly when his touch left her._

_He chuckled._

_"Richard?"_

_"Yeah?"_

_"Does this mean you will stop cruising for chickens?"_

_He laughed softly. "I never cruised for 'chicks'. I guess now I know why. Turns out the only 'chick' I wanted was in the tower, I just didn't know it at the time."_

_She blushed. She was always so easily embarrassed. "I'm glad. I know it is rather—possessive, but just so we are even, I promise not to 'cruise for boys', as Babs said we should…"_

_"I would appreciate it if you—you know—don't go out with other boys," he said in a matter-of-fact tone. "I'd really, really appreciate it if you don't kiss them either. So yeah, we're just about even on that."_

_She smiled, sidling closer to him. He pulled her closer, keeping her in his embrace…_

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_His embrace always lent her comfort; a definite in all the uncertainties of her life, which was why she was a bit surprised when he pulled her out of it, however gently he did it. _

_"Kori," he said, his unease apparent in his voice. "I've been meaning to ask…"_

_She stifled a whine of complaint. "What is it?"_

_"You're a crown princess…"_

_She was surprised by the subject matter, but she supposed she should've expected it would come up again. Two days had gone by since she told him about Blackfire and the life she left behind in Tamaran, and until now, there had been no hint that he was even thinking about it. She didn't know why she even believed the subject of her royalty wouldn't be brought up again. _

_He paused, possibly searching for words. "I'm… I'm not royalty, Kori. I'm not even titled. I'm just a punk kid who got adopted by a billionaire…"_

_Starfire's jaw dropped at the sheer implications of what he was saying. She wanted to smack him for _even thinking it. _"Dick Grayson, what are you trying to say? That you are not worthy of me because I was royalty and you are not? I dare you to say such a ridiculous thing!"_

_He fidgeted. "It's not _that, _it's just…" He didn't go on. _

_She scowled. "It is true when I tell you that I am officially the crown princess of Tamaran, but I have all but denounced it. I am not going back to Tamaran to reclaim anything, Richard. Ryand'r could have that throne. I believe he would make a good ruler. Anyway, that is all beside the point. What is royal title? It is nothing. It does not make me any different from any Tamaranian; it does not make me better than anyone in the universe; and it most certainly does not make you unworthy, in any way, of being with me. I love you. That is all that matters."_

_Robin sighed, and he took her back in his embrace. She smiled, sinking happily against him. _

_"It's just—" he hesitated "—it's so overwhelming. It's not like you're just the princess of some country, or something. I mean, I spent my entire life laughing at rich snobs precisely because a lot of them thought they were better than everyone else, but you're—you're the crown princess of an entire _planet. _That makes the Windsors look like wannabes; it's wild; it's—my girlfriend is a princess of an entire _world!_ That's crazy"_

_She frowned a bit. He was sounding a little "freaked out". Like suddenly, he didn't know what to do with her. "Have I changed at all since I told you about being a princess?"_

_"Well, of course not."_

_"Then what is it that has you so troubled?"_

_"I don't know. Maybe it _is_ weird that it doesn't make a difference. Wouldn't it catch up on you, or something?" He gave a confused laugh. "I mean, you can't just _leave_ an entire _planet!"

_"I can, and I have. You worry overmuch…"_

_He didn't give his standard reply of "It's my nature." He merely sighed, troubled as ever. _

_She did not disturb the silence. There would be time enough to discuss the matter again, when Robin was in a better disposition._

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_… better disposed, if only for him. _

_"You're in good hands, Kori. They're the best in their respective fields."_

_Starfire nodded._

_He leaned over, so he could speak more softly. "You know, when they begin to put you to sleep, the last thought you have will be what you dream about, so you should think really nice thoughts."_

_She smiled mischievously, some of her fears easing off. "I will think of you then… and last night."_

_"Then I'd say that would be a very, very… very good dream."_

_A soft giggle escaped her._

_Footsteps clopped from the door and she could make out that there was more than one stride. _

_"Good morning, Kori…"_

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"Kori? Can you hear me?"

It was an unfamiliar voice, and it was invading her slumber. She stirred, trying to open her eyes, but something held them close; something tight. Her thoughts were jumbled and by all rights, she had every reason to panic, but she was powerfully lethargic. She could barely lift an arm, much less cause a fuss.

She couldn't remember exactly where she was, but she knew she was on Earth. There was a smell to it, and it dawned on her that perhaps, there was no cause for her to panic.

"Kori?"

_That _voice was familiar. She moaned a bit. Her tongue was feeling somewhat sluggish.

There was a soft chuckle, and she realized it was not Robin who had first spoken to her. "Welcome back, darling. I trust you slept well?"

It was Dr. Leeman.

Her thoughts began to solidify and she found that she was able to lift her hand. She brought it to her eyes and encountered a gauze-like covering. Tentatively, she tried to pick at it.

"Ah, ah," Dr. Leeman's gentle hands came upon hers to coax her curious fingers away. "Don't touch, deary. They're supposed to stay on, at least for another three days. Now tell Georgie how you feel. Hurt? _Betrayed?"_

"Georgie," came another voice. It was gently scolding, and Dr. Leeman laughed mildly. The other voice was familiar as well. A woman's.

"Oh, hush, Chase. I'm just teasing," said Dr. Leeman. "Kori, my love, do you feel any nausea? Is anything numb? Tell Dr. Georgie all about it."

She forced herself to form words, befuddled as she was. "R-Richard?"

"Okay, not the answer I was expecting, but hopefully, that's a good sign."

Dr. Meridian sighed. "Oh, Georgie, stop teasing. Dick, get on over here. Kori's looking for you. Georgie, let the man through."

"Fine, fine…"

Starfire felt a warm hand holding hers in a tender grip. There was still a faint wisp of his shampoo scent; perhaps in another hour or so, the hospital-scent would overwhelm it, but she was glad she could still recognize him.

"Hey," he said softly.

She smiled and it was an effort. The drugs were still in her system, she supposed, but it wasn't entirely unpleasant. It made her drowsy, yes, but she didn't feel nauseated and as far as she was concerned, she had sensation in all parts of her. In fact, she felt a little sore around the eyes. It didn't feel like they had cut her up. It felt more like someone had punched her, right where her sockets were. It wasn't all that painful, really, but maybe they had employed some kind of local anesthesia to it, and that it would hurt a bit more, later. "Is it over?"

"Yeah. It's done. The doctors said everything went very smoothly. Now all we have to do is allow you to heal and wait."

"I will… see again?"

She felt his thumb rubbing on the back of her hand.

"We won't know until the bandages are removed, but so far, the doctors are optimistic."

She nodded, understanding. "In three days, then. You will be here, won't you?" She was willing to be alone in the next two days. She understood that Robin had responsibilities in Jump City, but she couldn't bear the thought that he wouldn't be there come the third day. Whether or not she'd be able to see again, she needed him to be there.

"I'll be here. I promise."

She smiled, relieved. His promise would see her through, no matter what.

_To be continued…_

* * *

Closing notes: Welcome back, readers of _Guiding Star!_ This is exciting. Wind Beneath Her Wings, I tried to take a breather, I really did! But my brain was in a tizzy and I had to get it out. Here it is! First chapter of part two! Let's get it on. 


	2. Eyes Wide Open

Standard disclaimers apply.

**PATH TO TAMARAN**

**Chapter Two – Eyes Wide Open**

Starfire palmed the discman beside her and sought the stop button. While she liked listening to _Black Eyed Peas_ the last four times, a fifth time was a bit much, even for her.

With the abrupt silence, a distinct ringing sound began to echo in her ears. She plucked out her ear phones and wiggled a finger in her ear irritably before she went back to reading her Braille-format book.

Eventually, the ringing stopped, but the quiet thundered in her consciousness.

Frustrated, she leaned her head back on the lounge seat and sighed, tapping her finger idly on the surface of her book.

She was so bored.

After the operation, the doctors had expected her to stay in the medical facility for the rest of her convalescence, but that night, after having spent an entire day keeping her company, Robin had to absolutely go back to the tower. He didn't tell her exactly why; evading her questions by saying she had nothing to worry about except recovering.

She wanted to be spoiled and petulant, but she resisted the urge bravely and wished him safe. The following day, she had been bored enough to get out of bed and walk around with her I.V. unit until a scientist caught her and sent her back to bed. It didn't take long before she got out of bed again.

When Bruce Wayne came by at lunch to see how she was doing, she had been missing from her room. Everyone went into a panic, mainly because they knew she was Bruce Wayne's and Dick Grayson's _special concern,_ and losing her wouldn't please either. It was Dr. Leeman who found her in the pediatrics wing. She was seated comfortably on the colorful, rubber mats with a child perched on her lap. The child was struggling valiantly to read a fairy tale from a book, and while anyone who saw Starfire might have thought she was merely humoring the child by patiently bearing the painstakingly told tale, Starfire was, in fact, fascinated with the story of the talking frog who claimed to be an enchanted prince.

Extracting her from child and book, Dr. Leeman scolded her gently, telling her that Bruce Wayne was there and that she "… _simply _cannot keep a beautiful man like him waiting! Didn't they teach you that in Tamaran? I swear to God, child, you're queerer than I am!"

The moment Dr. Leeman ushered her back into her room, dextrose pole in tote, Bruce Wayne said, "I think you could do the rest of your waiting in the Wayne Manor."

So Bruce Wayne took her back to the mansion and while she was _much_ more comfortable lying on a Zero Gravity mattress and citrus scented pillows, there wasn't much else to do in the mansion except walk around and find a good place to lounge. She spent many hours trying to keep herself occupied and when she had ran out of ideas, she spent the rest of the hours missing Robin. She ached to call him, but she forbore. Robin didn't like interruptions while he was working. If he weren't busy, she was sure he would call her.

Three days after the operation, she anxiously awaited the afternoon for her "unveiling". Having woken up at five in the morning, there were many hours until then. She had elected to spend her time reading a book while she listened to some music by the indoor pool.

To make her feel comfortable, Alfred had brought her some cappuccino. He told her he would be making cookies while he waited for the breakfast chef to arrive, and that maybe he could bring some cookies over once they were baked. She wished she could help him; it was something productive and it would certainly pass the time, but baking was not something one with her impairment could undertake. The risk of getting burned was too great; never mind that she risked a lot more when she fought super-villains. Alfred adamantly refused to let her near the hot pans and ovens. She suspected it had more to do with the ruined soufflés the last time she had tried to help him.

But of course, two hours later, the idea of reading the time away no longer seemed as brilliant as she initially thought.

Setting the book aside, she pulled her knees up to her chest, leaned her chin on them and sighed. She couldn't even take a dip in the pool. The doctors had told her the chlorine might get in her eyes and irritate it. She didn't feel like risking it. It might make her recovery take even longer; or worse, it might ruin everything.

It got her thinking momentarily about her questions regarding the star bolts from her eyes. She had asked the doctors if she would be able to use them again. She was glad they were frank in their reply.

"We don't know," said one scientist. "We discovered from the results of your past tests that the filter protecting your retina and macula from the heat produced by your star bolts were damaged when the trauma occurred. Our theory was that the filter had blood-vessels in them that burst under the pressure of the hit. You must have fired a bolt _after _the damage occurred thus scorching your retina and macula, then subsequently damaging the entire apparatus that produced the bolts. While your brain might still know how to do it, your _biological equipment_ was shot. Hopefully, our efforts to repair that filter and 'bolt generators' would give us good results. The bad news is that testing to see if it worked could pose a great risk. If the repair of the filters was flawed by even just a bit—well, you'll damage your eyes again."

She was a bit disappointed at the thought that she may never be able to use her bolts again, but she was quick to recover from that disappointment. It was a small compromise for the return of her sight.

She heard the door open and she turned her head slightly towards the sound. She assumed it was Alfred bringing cookies. She smiled wanly, placing her chin back down on her knees. "Thank you, Alfred, but you should have just called me over the intercom. I would have gone to the kitchen myself."

There was a chuckle. "Alfred doesn't do that sort of thing if he could help it."

Robin's voice was music to Starfire's ears. She smiled broadly and she felt him sit beside her on the lounge chair. After exchanging tender and intimate hellos, Starfire felt it well within her rights to pout.

"Uh oh," said Robin in response to her expression. "I got in trouble again, didn't I?"

"Hmph! What sent your running to Jump City that you could not tell me? I did not want to be 'a pest' by insisting, but now that you are back and I have been bored to death for the last two days, I demand for an answer!"

"You missed me, didn't you?"

Starfire scowled. She could tell he found this all amusing and while on an ordinary day she would let herself fall for his charms, this wasn't an ordinary day and she had spent a lot of hours preparing herself for her boyfriend's evasive tactics. "You silly boy, of course I did! But that is _not _the point."

"It isn't? I could've sworn…" He began to employ his playful little seductions and for a few seconds, she lost her focus.

She stopped the smile that was creeping up the corners of her lips and turned her nose up haughtily. "That is _not_ going to work, Richard."

"I just didn't want to worry you, that's all."

"Just tell me what it is."

He sighed. "Kai and Cron."

Her brows knotted, trying to make sense of what Robin said.

_Centari police._

When the names registered, she gasped. "What? They have found my sister? They have—"

"They were looking for you. They suspected that you were harboring Blackfire."

Her jaw dropped and then her ire rose. "Well, no wonder Blackfire got away from them again. They are _idiots!" _She had had about enough of the Centari police trying to bring her in where Blackfire was involved. She was usually very forgiving, but two days of boredom had raked at her good humor.

"Since I didn't want them coming here to Gotham and bothering you, I went over there and cleared things up. Wasn't easy, but we managed to convince them you had nothing to do with Blackfire's escape from their prison. I was worried they'd be stubborn and head on over here anyway, but I figured that if they did, Batman wouldn't let anything happen to you."

She frowned at the mental image of Kai and Cron crashing through the Wayne Manor roof. Alfred would probably be as dignified as ever, telling them dryly that they could have used the front door.

Still, she couldn't totally understand why Robin hadn't told her about it. Certainly, the arrival of Kai and Cron was something that could worry her, but not _that_ badly that he'd want to keep it secret from her.

"There's more," he said.

She knew then that _this_ was the reason he tried to keep mum about the situation. His tone sent her stomach in knots.

"When Cyborg called me, he'd only just spotted Kai and Cron's plasma trail in space. I was in Jump City before they got to Earth; on their way here, their ship—well, Cyborg detected that something intercepted their signal."

Starfire's anxiety heightened. _"Something?"_

"Yeah. Whatever it was, it was just a slight interruption, but when we tracked its source—well, it was about twenty six light years away…"

The knot in Starfire's stomach thunked and she sighed. She did not want to think the worse of it. After all, intercepting a Centari craft's plasma trail bore little to no information about where they were headed. It was not something she should be overly worried about, but she couldn't help it.

For Robin's sake, she immediately began to downplay the situation. "Oh, well I would not worry about that. Besides, I have too many things on my mind right now. This afternoon, my bandages would be coming off. I am all nervousness and excitement."

Robin's hand rubbed her arm soothingly, though he said nothing. Perhaps he had detected that she was covering up her anxiety for his sake.

He, of all people, understood the need to keep emotions to ones self. As a leader of the Titans, he was very deliberate when it came to discussing emotions with his teammates. With Beast Boy, Raven and Cyborg, he would throw a line and leave it to them to take it, but when it came to her, he always made more of an effort to reach out. She appreciated his understanding of her. Always attuned to her sensibilities, she wasn't as clammed up as the others. She only kept to herself because the others were so reserved.

"Would it be so bad if your family found you?" he asked.

She let out a weary sigh. "I do not know anymore. I have spent the last eight years running away and I am almost certain that I have run myself out of the grand scheme of things in Tamaran. It probably would not matter, if they found me."

_Then again, it may mean a world of things._

He was silent for a moment. "You left Tamaran when you were _nine?"_

Starfire could not help but give a slightly bitter laugh. "You could say that."

"Where did you _go?"_

She gave it some thought and realized that it still brought her pain to think about it. She could not help it; she was ashamed of sharing her history with Robin, not so much because of what she was, but more how she got that way. Did she have defective parents? Did that make her defective as well? Would Robin think them monsters? Was she ever deserving of what they had done to her and her sister?

Robin said that it did not matter what her parents and sister had done, that his love for her was based entirely on who she was, but the longer she was in Robin's confidence, the more she realized that family was terribly important to him. For all his assurances, her insecurities could not be quieted. How can one who believed in family so strongly _not_ associate family members with each other?

Even if they hadn't discussed her family in more detail, she could tell that he still thought of her parents in a certain way, almost as if he believed that they probably weren't so bad. She could not blame him for being kinder in his opinion of them. He would be a lesser man if he thought badly of the ancestors of the woman he loved. To him, he loved the daughter; the ones who sired her couldn't possibly be awful.

She was not ready to share that history with him. "Everywhere," she replied vaguely. "I went everywhere." It was partly true.

_Masters traveled all the time and brought most of the household with them._

He sighed. No doubt, he had detected her reluctance to go into more detail. "You had breakfast yet?"

She appreciated him for knowing when _not_ to insist, too. His change of subject was certainly welcome. "No. Not yet."

"Then, come on. Breakfast at the Wayne Manor is always something to look forward to."

Starfire managed a smile as he took her hand and grabbed her other things. She got a hold of her walking stick and let Robin lead her out.

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_What is the price of peace? Is it like a commodity weighed by its value in gold? Does it demand blood before the blood-letting could be stopped? Or perhaps blood is small change to go with the larger denomination that is the soul. Blood could be replenished; but the soul needs more, to recover. Sometimes, the soul is so damaged that it is broken forever. _

_The floor was hard; made of damp stone. Beneath her was a blanket of dirty linen, barely padded; and the lumps from the ground poked on every part of her body. _

_She looked out of the window from her make-shift bed and she saw the dark skies between the bars. She shifted, gritting her teeth against the discomfort. The chains on her wrists and ankles rattled; the subduing-collar around her neck beeping softly, but in the silence of the chamber, it rang loud in her ears. _

_Soft laughter rose from one of her chamber-mates; the elder one; female like the rest of them in the five-person cell. Male and female slaves were not allowed to sleep in one cell. The masters couldn't afford unnecessary breeding. The "grunts" as slave off-spring were called, were almost never allowed to live. Taking grunts away from their parents almost always resulted in bloodshed. It complicated matters; made things messy, and it cost more. Unruly slaves had to be killed to prevent uprisings, which meant a new slave had to be purchased. Overall, it was terribly inconvenient when a slave bred. Better to employ preventive measures, like separate barracks. _

_"You will get used to the hardness of the floor."_

_Starfire tried to remember the woman's name, attaching a face to it. Even if she could barely see in the darkness, she would like to be able to feel that even slaves had identities. _

_Xyannis had long brown hair that had waves rippling down its length. She had strong Kalapattian features and she wore her hair back with a strip of linen. She seemed frail of build; though that may have just been a result of periodic starvation. _

_"One gets used to this?" Starfire whispered. It didn't seem possible. It didn't seem possible that anyone could get used to any of it. _

_"When they have worked you to the bone, you will find that cot more comfortable than any soft bed you've ever slept on, princess."_

_Starfire gave a start. "H-How—"_

_"Oh, the Gordanian masters speak carelessly in our presence all the time. Sometimes they think we do not understand them, but mostly, they just don't consider us significant enough to worry about. This afternoon, they were all talk about the crown princess of Tamaran."_

_Starfire made no reply. What good were titles in the slave barracks? "Does it—does it hurt to be a slave?"_

_"Only when you disobey them.__ Do as they please and they will have no reason to hurt you. Sometimes you get so hungry and weak that you begin to drop things; those times are the worse, but our master is not so particular about his pottery. Just don't spill anything on him and he won't have you lashed so badly."_

_Starfire shuddered, and then she began to cry. _

_"Hush, girl. You will have to learn how to staunch your tears. Crying irritates them. Sometimes they lash you for it, or kick you."_

_"I could not help it," whimpered Starfire. "I am only nine years old… I am just a little girl. I cry all the time…"_

_"You must forget you are nine. You must forget you are a little girl. You are a slave now. You have to be strong, or you will die."_

_"I—I try to be strong; for my people."_

_"Is that what your father told you?" There was bitterness in her tone and Starfire reacted to it defensively._

_"Father did not want to send me. He refused to send me. What father would want to send his child into slavery? My father would never do such a thing willingly. It was I who convinced him to let me go. I told him I would go for my people; that I would go even if he forbids it, because the Citadellians promised to leave Tamaran alone if I was paid as ransom."_

_She paused a moment, as if to reassess her words. "Then you are far selfless than I." _

_Starfire said nothing. Right now, she was feeling more selfish than she would like to admit. She wished, bitterly, that she hadn't been so insistent. She wished she were some place other than in the slave barracks of Gordane, under warrant of the Citadel Empire. She wished there was _no Tamaran_ that she felt obligated to protect. She was afraid of the lashing and the starvation and the subduing-collar._

_She had seen the masters use the subduing-collar on the slaves; slaves who looked healthy and strong still, and their cries of pain would echo in her nightmares for many weeks._

_"I am afraid," she confessed. She could not bear the thought that Xyannis gave her credit where it wasn't deserved. _

_Xyannis was silent for a while before she spoke. "It is just pain. Be thankful, princess, that for the meantime, your virtue is safe. The master does not like the young ones. Perhaps when you begin to develop— at thirteen; maybe fourteen, you could worry, but for the meantime, the master will not want you."_

_It was too awful and Starfire began to cry again. This time, Xyannis did not tell her to stop. Perhaps the elder slave realized that there would time enough for Starfire to keep her tears from falling. Better to shed them now, under the cover of night and the comfort of the dark. _

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"Kori, wake up."

The voice; the comforting softness, gently roused her from sleep. There was a hand rubbing at her arm and it was warm.

She was not in the slave barracks and she was not sleeping on a ratty futon on the floor.

As she woke, she tried to re-orient herself: She was on the couch of the viewing room where earlier, she and Robin had decided to pass the time after an early lunch. He was watching a basketball game replay and she had dozed off on his lap five minutes into the unintelligible commentary. She couldn't understand how a ball could be shot from "downtown" or why "traveling" was bad while "beating the shot-clock" was good. What did the shot-clock ever do to deserve such ill-treatment?

Now Robin was waking her up. Perhaps his leg had fallen asleep and he needed to move it.

She pushed herself languorously to a sitting position, running her hands through her hair. She yawned. "Is the game over? Who won?" She hoped it was Miami. She knew he was rooting for them.

"Madam Koriand'r, it is time." It was Alfred.

She may have been drowsy from sleep, but she instantly knew what he meant, and it chased sleep from her.

Starfire suddenly felt nauseated by it. She was nervous and she began telling herself that everything would be fine, that if she were to find out that the operation hadn't worked, everything would be okay.

"Master Bruce shall be meeting you and Master Richard in the medical facility. He expects me to have you there in forty five minutes."

"You don't have to bring us there, Alfred," said Robin. "I'll drive. We'll be fine."

"Master Bruce insists. As do I. Madam Koriand'r would want someone sitting with her at the back of the car."

_Especially if the operation failed.__ Even Alfred does not discount the possibility,_ thought Starfire sullenly. But she was thankful for their consideration, nonetheless.

Perhaps understanding the situation, Robin did not insist further.

She took a moment to freshen up in the bathroom, aware that she was taking her time. When she emerged, Robin was there to guide her the rest of the way.

They followed Alfred out of the viewing room and through the hallways. It was a long walk, but it ended in a place filled with familiar echoes. They were in the garage and Robin was ushering her into a car with the luxurious leather seats. I felt like the same car that picked them up at the airfield and it probably was.

Robin didn't say much on the way to the medical facility and for once, Starfire didn't feel like being randomly cheerful.

After a long while, she felt the car tilting forward, like it was sliding down an incline, and then the car was level again, coming to a complete stop a few seconds later.

Robin's grip on her hand tightened momentarily. "We're here."

She showed no hesitation following him out of the car, but her stomach was fluttering.

"Master Richard, here is your passcard to the Executive Elevator."

"I already have one, thanks."

"That is the old one. We update codes every other week."

Robin sighed. "I always forget that Bruce is even more anal than I am."

"I shall remain here, Master Richard. Madam Koriand'r?"

Starfire turned towards him slightly.

"I surmise that all will be well; no matter what."

She could not help but give him a brave smile.

Robin led her and she let herself sink into her own thoughts. She tried her best not to be afraid. As Alfred said, all would be well, no matter what. If only she could get herself to believe it, at the moment.

_And how about everyone else?_ The scientists, the doctors, Robin; they would feel disappointment as well. She could not help but feel partly responsible if that happened.

They were in an elevator. She could tell, and there was that infernal drone of elevator music emanating from some hidden speaker. She fidgeted with her hair and blurted out something she hadn't said out loud in a long time. "I am afraid."

It was like her words broke the tension. He laughed softly, putting his arm around her reassuringly. "Don't be. Alfred's right. Whether this works or not, you're going to be okay."

"And you? Will you be okay?"

He gave her shoulders a squeeze. "Of course I'll be okay. You don't have to worry about any of us."

She nodded, finding comfort in his words.

When the elevator doors opened, they stepped out and Starfire knew they were alone in the hallway. Their sneakers made occasional squeaky noises on the floor as they walked. Robin led them through several doors that asked for his passcard in a mechanical voice.

Finally, there came a door that opened to the voices of a busy crowd.

The noise was only momentary, however. Almost as soon as the noise came, it dwindled to silence.

"Right on time." It was Bruce.

"Alfred made sure," said Robin.

"Of course he did. Alfred's dependable that way. Kori, right this way."

She felt Bruce taking her other hand to lead her and she had little choice but to follow him.

"Who the hell are all these people?" she heard Robin whispering fiercely.

"Some of them are part of this project," replied Bruce, matching Robin's volume, though he didn't sound the least bit as bothered as Robin was. "But a lot of them are from the other projects in the wing. Many have taken an interest to the progress of this study. I got five calls today from science magazine editors requesting access to this facility just so they could see what happens. I turned them all down, of course, but these guys right here are probably friends of friends. I didn't foresee that there would be so many who would like to know the results. If I had, I would have put up some regulations.""

"Can't you just tell the ones who are supposed to be working on their _own projects_ to go away? If I had known there would be a circus here, I would have taken Kori's bandages off myself in the privacy of the Wayne Manor. It ain't rocket science to use a pair of scissors to cut off gauze, you know. Christ, Bruce, everything you do just turns into one big grand opening—"

"Now, now, _Dick._Don't be so grouchy. If it makes you feel any better, we'll be facilitating the removal of the bandages in a private room. Just you, me, Kori and the good doctor. You realize, of course, that the presence of a doctor is necessary, or do you want me to tell him to go to hell with his medical diploma? He's only had twenty six years of experience in the field of ophthalmology, anyway. But as you've said, it ain't rocket science."

"Look, Bruce. I'm just saying that all these people are putting unnecessary pressure on Kori. She doesn't need this kind of stress. She's nervous enough—"

Starfire sighed. She couldn't deal with their arguing right now. "Please, Richard, it is fine. Please stop arguing."

"There now," said Bruce. "You've upset Kori."

_"What?"_

She gave another sigh, more exasperated this time. "Please…" She turned to Bruce pleadingly. She did not want to be disrespectful to Bruce, especially with everything he had done for her, but she needed him to _stop baiting Robin. _

Bruce conceded lightly enough. "Of course." He took a turn and stopped walking. The faint sound of country music wafted to her ears.

"Dr. Mueller?"

"Ah, Mr. Wayne!"

Starfire remembered the name and the "hillbilly" accent. Dr. Mueller was one of the doctors who attended to her examinations. She had heard the other doctors addressing him with great respect, however humorous he tended to get in his discourse. From the way he called her "li'l missy" and his fellow doctors "young folks", she had guessed he was older than everyone else, or at least he thought so.

"Li'l missy, if you could sit right here, for me."

Starfire was led to a cushioned table. Hoisting herself up gracefully while Bruce made introductions between Dr. Mueller and Robin.

"Young Grayson hardly remembers me, of course," said Dr. Mueller. "You were a bit of a runt when I watched you steal laughing gas from Dr. Leeman's office."

Starfire suppressed a giggle. Robin didn't like being reminded that he had been a somewhat small child, and perhaps he didn't like being reminded of his little delinquencies either.

"W-Well, I-I wasn't actually stealing…" explained Robin awkwardly.

Dr. Mueller chuckled. "Oh, Dr. Leeman used to complain to me about it all the time, but he always let you. I suppose he saw you would become a comely feller. That fruity twit has a knack for knowing who would grow up to be lookers. Tries to catch 'em young, I think. He was right, eh? Look at you. All grown up; almost as tall as Mr. Wayne. Now, what are you all getting red in the face about? Am I embarrassing you?"

"N-No, sir."

"Good! Man has to know his own assets, that's what I think. Why, in my day, I knew I was the best looking son of a gun in my university. I tipped my cowboy hat at the lady-grocer and she'd give me discounts like they was going out of business. Put me through college, those discounts. Couldn't had done it without her. Ah, Mrs. Johnson… but enough about her. Let's talk about you, li'l missy. Anything you'd like to tell me before we take off 'em bandages? How'd you feel in the last three days?"

Starfire bit her lip pensively. "Um… _bored?"_

He laughed, and she heard mild chuckles from Bruce and Robin.

"Well, I'd imagine so, li'l missy. D'you feel any pain? Any dizziness? Nausea?"

"I am feeling a bit nauseous now…"

"That's just jitters. Or maybe it's just my country music. I get complaints for it all the time."

"I-It is not your country music!" she hastened to explain.

"That's what they all say!"

There was a snip, and before she knew it, she felt the draft around her temples.

The bandages were gone and he was removing the padding from atop her lids.

It suddenly occurred to her that she was terrified of opening her eyes. It was the only thing standing between knowing if the operation had failed or had been successful.

"Now, you may not see right off the bat," said Dr. Mueller. "If there's nothing at first, don't panic. It could take a few seconds; it could take a few hours. We're not sure yet as far as your Tamaranian make-up is concerned. Heck, three days was an estimate. For something like this, we'd give a normal human being a week or two, but seeing as you heal very quickly, we didn't want to _bore you_ anymore than was necessary. Now open your eyes, li'l missy. Let's see what we've got."

The beating of her heart intensified and she felt a tremble go through her. Slowly, she pried her lids open.

And there was absolutely nothing.

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_The darkness was complete, and while normally being sealed into a small room without even a single light to assure her that she hadn't died and gone to the underworld would have her screaming to be let out, Starfire hadn't the strength to be frightened. She was too weak from the whipping; too weak from her first taste of the subduing collar. _

_Beside her in the dark, Xyannis shifted ever so slightly, and for her, Starfire began to weep._

_"What did I tell you about crying, girl?" asked Xyannis in a nasal tone. Some blood must have clotted in her nose. _

_"I am sorry." She said it in a whisper. She was so ashamed of herself. "If I had not misbehaved, you would not have tried to help me, and you would not have been—"_

_"Hush, girl. It was my choice. I couldn't just stand there and watch you bear the pain alone."_

_"B-But you shouldn't have—"_

_"You did it for Thurden, didn't you?"_

_"Because he was already so weak!__ He could take no more. Even _they_ know their beatings would kill him, else he would be here with us, right now!"_

_"Well, I did it because you were _strong._ I won't have them breaking your soul just yet; not you, little girl."_

_Starfire stared into the darkness, absorbing Xyannis' words. After a while, she closed her eyes, her weeping spent. She could feel the wounds on her back dripping with blood, knowing that in the morning, they would be gone, and that there would be no scars. Sometimes, she wondered if their wardens wouldn't be so harsh if most of the slaves didn't heal so quickly and cleanly. Perhaps if there were scars to remind them of what they wrought, they would find it in their hearts to have sympathy. _

_The silence wore on. There was nothing left to say on that night. _

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Her jaw dropped and for a moment, her mind yelled for her to say nothing. Perhaps it was better not to speak; save everyone else the pain.

Disappointment was coming to her in waves, as much as she tried to scold herself for being so weak of will.

"Kori?" It was Robin, of course.

Someone shushed him. Perhaps it was Bruce.

"Missy, tell me what you see."

"I-I do not see anything." It felt terrible saying it.

She felt a hand tilt her head up before it was gently released.

"Hmm. Interestin'. How about this? Do you see this?"

There was a recurring clicking sound and Starfire frowned. The shock was wearing off and the disappointment was coming over her in waves. She wanted to tell the doctor, "I just _told you_ I could see nothing!" but she held back, because she knew he didn't deserve her disrespect.

She shook her head.

"Could you see this?"

Starfire was just about losing her composure when she froze; uncertain.

It had no shape or form. Basically it was _nothing_, yet it was _something._ It was like a haze of white, flashing on and off in quick staccato.

She stammered to reply.

"How 'bout this one, again?" The clicking sound returned and this time, the flashes were _definitely _more distinct.

"I-It's a light…"

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_It wasn't candlelight that illuminated the slave quarters. The sun was streaming through the bars of the windows and Starfire felt herself waking from an uncomfortable sleep. She was propped up against the wall, like she had been dumped there unceremoniously. The cots were some distance away. _

_"Cots… pots…" she sang nonsensically. She scowled at the randomness of her words, but she continued anyway. "Pots must be cleaned… leaned… seen… have I seen such a moon…?"_

_There was no one in the room with her. It was early, but the slaves were all already up for the day. _

_Perhaps the master _did_ have a bit of consideration, letting her stay in. He did, after all, require her presence in the middle of the night. Starfire remembered being roused from her cot by the master's seneschal and having Xyannis' eyes follow her as she nervously complied. On her way to the door, she noticed several other slaves watching her. It made her uneasy, but the fact that Xyannis had made no protest helped allay her fears. _

_She remembered being brought before the master and the master staring at her with his yellow, reptilian eyes. The green scales of his skin seemed to ripple everywhere, even when he wasn't moving, and when he sneered at her, baring his row of small, sharp teeth, she wondered if she would be eaten alive, or killed before they made a meal of her. _

_After that, Starfire could remember nothing else. Perhaps she had been knocked to sleep from behind. _

_She felt the back of her head for lumps. Her hand ran smack against her face several times before she succeeded in maneuvering it to her nape. There were no lumps, and she felt very little pain; just the usual aches and sores from everyday slavery. She did, however, feel very odd. The room wasn't exactly swirling, but it would flash colors, then faces, then turn her into a giant ball of green. _

_There was a sound at the door and she was only mildly surprised to see Xyannis entering the chamber. The chambers remained unlocked during the working hours so that slaves could go in and out of them without having to bother the wardens, but it wasn't as if slaves would have such free time to visit their chambers for a quick nap. Xyannis was there because she had gotten a slave to cover for her and Starfire felt her usual sense of gratitude for the woman. Xyannis was always looking out for her and the thought that someone cared for her in this awful place was something she clung to desperately. _

_Starfire moved her head and found that it was still a bit uncooperative from the drugs. _

_Xyannis began to help Starfire to her feet. "How do you feel, girl?" Her voice sounded very different, like a soprano being cranked down to an alto._

_"Strained."__ Starfire frowned. Her tongue was being tricky. She wanted to say "strange" but for some reason, she found it difficult. She tried again. "Straight… straannnggge."_

_"Mm.__ I'd imagine you'd feel that way." Xyannis gently placed her on her cot. It wasn't much better than what she had been leaning against a few seconds ago, but in their lifestyle, it was about as soft as a feather-bed. At least she had a pillow, lumpy as it was. _

_Starfire squinted at Xyannis. "What have they done to me, Xyanniii, of Kalapattiii?"_

_Xyannis smiled slightly. Starfire hardly ever saw her smiling. She pointed it out and laughed. Even her laughter was strange; enunciated "Ha-has" instead of spontaneous sounds of mirth. _

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Dr. Mueller laughed, giving an elated, "Haha!"

"Oh God, Kori, could you see it?" It was Robin's voice.

She automatically turned in his direction and was astonished to find a faint moving outline. She blinked in surprise.

Dr. Mueller called to her and she turned in his direction. She flinched back instinctively at an approaching object she could not identify. He belted out another, "Haha!"

"Did you fellers see that? She avoided me! Li'l missy, you're getting along just fine."

It was difficult to be as positive about it as he was. On the one hand, it was more than what Starfire had seen in months, yet on another hand, she couldn't quite call it seeing, either. Even if she could see objects moving, she could not identify them.

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_Starfire couldn't understand, but she dared not ask for a clearer explanation. The master and his assistants did not like being pestered. Instead, she stared at them with a blank expression on her face. It was a technique the slaves had learned to employ, dealing with masters who couldn't speak very clearly in the first place. _

_The master would see the look of confusion on the slave's face and make further explanation on account of it, albeit rather exasperatedly. Sometimes, it earned slaves a slap or two of frustration, but it was a lot better than being whipped for speaking without permission. _

_For Starfire, a Tamaranian who could absorb languages through touch, it wasn't so much that she could not understand what they were saying, but more a matter of context. _

_For instance, she could understand that they were telling her to throw away the leftovers from dinner, but she couldn't understand why they didn't just tell her and the slaves to eat the remains. They were starving, yet she was being told to dump the scraps in the disposal bin. What was the sense in that? If the masters did not want the leftovers, then the slaves would certainly appreciate it. _

_This time, it wasn't about food. It wasn't even about telling her to do something. She was being _informed_ that as of the following week, she would be sent home to Tamaran._

_Her confusion was apparent, and gritting his pointy teeth, the master grabbed her by the hair and shook her in irritation. _

_Her roots stung, though it was a kind of pain she could readily ignore. It was nothing compared to the whipping and the subduing collars and the overnight detentions, but she whimpered, just so they felt that they were overpowering her. Feeding their sense of power as early as possible made for less physical abuse later on. _

_The master let her go disdainfully and she toppled to her side on her hands and knees. _

_"I _said _a week from now, your father's emissaries will be arriving to fetch you. Don't go stupid on me, slave. You are wasting my time!"_

_She bit her lip before she could say anything that would aggravate him._

_It made no sense, her leaving. Xyannis had just told her that the only time a slave was turned free was in a coffin. A dead slave was often nailed up in a box, and if he had family, his family would be informed. If no arrangements were made to have his body sent home, he was cremated, his ashes mixed with the other un-recovered dead. _

_Perhaps she wasn't a very good slave; maybe they had decided that getting rid of her would be more cost effective, after all, maintaining a slave cost more than putting her in a nailed up box. She considered asking them when they were planning to kill her. Tonight? Mid-week? Perhaps right before her people came to fetch her? _

_She was relieved to realize that the frightening thought was not making her cry. She had learned to keep her tears in check; a lesson learned the hard way. Certainly, being whipped into drying one's tears had been a paradox of sorts. One couldn't help but let tears fall when there was much pain, but it certainly drove the lesson home for the next time she got the foolish notion to cry. _

_When Starfire was dismissed, she humbly scurried out of the room and back to the kitchens. It was her turn to scrub the floors and the cooks would be furious if they saw that the work was undone. _

_Xyannis was beside her in an instant. "What happened, girl? I thought they were going to kill you! Being called like that…"_

_"I-It was nothing. They just wanted me to find out what was rotting beneath the floorboards." She did not know why she hadn't told Xyannis that she was scheduled to die soon, for it was madness to think that she would be leaving this wretched planet alive. _

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"Well, look alive, missy! You're getting your vision back!"

Starfire tried her best to smile, and perhaps she had succeeded, because it gave Dr. Mueller reason to sound even more elated.

It was difficult. Apart from the dreadful memories that were suddenly flashing in her mind, she wasn't wholly convinced that the operation had worked.

There was a definite shape to the outlines, now. There were three hazy splotches, but she couldn't _see_ anyone clearly enough yet.

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_Starfire scrubbed vigorously at the clear glass and she growled in frustration. The stain, whatever it was, simply refused to come off. She shifted on her harness, turning in her seat to call to her lifter who was at least four levels down. "It will not come off!" _

_Xyannis sighed, obviously tired from holding the ropes all day. _

_Starfire wished the wardens would at _least_ remove her subduing-collar when she cleaned windows, just so she could use her powers of flight and save the rest of the cleaners the trouble. It wasn't as if she would fly away. If she escaped, the Citadellians would attack her planet, and if cleaning windows could prevent that, she would very well have the windows sparkling. _

_However, it was evident that the windows would not be as spotless as she hoped. There were just some stains that had worked their way into the glass, rendering them permanent. _

_She felt her harness lowering, and when she got to the ground, Xyannis relieved her of the bottled cleaning solution. _

_The nearest Gordanian supervisor eyed them menacingly before moving on to observe the other slaves. _

_"Here," said Xyannis, taking a different bottle from the work box. "Use this solution instead. You might be dealing with a _gorg _stain."_

_Starfire grimaced. She hated _gorgs._ They were ugly and vicious flies that could leave itchy bites the size of one's hand._

_"When their guts are left unattended, they could seep into any surface," Xyannis further explained. _

_As Starfire took the bottled solution from her, Xyannis grasped her wrist. Starfire stared at her in surprise._

_"There is a rumor that says you will be leaving us sometime next week; to go home."_

_Starfire's surprised look faded. "Yes, well, I suppose they do not like me much. So long as they kill me before they nail me into the box, I shall have no complaints."_

_Xyannis arched an eyebrow. "Do you know for sure that you will be going home in a box? Perhaps they will be sending you home alive."_

_Starfire shrugged. "That would be quite the pleasant surprise."_

_Xyannis sighed, nodding. Even _she_ didn't believe Starfire would be leaving Gordane on her own two feet. _

_Starfire was just about getting ready to have herself hoisted back up when Xyannis squeezed her shoulder._

_"In case you make it out of here alive… find my family and tell them I am dead. Tell them you saw me die."_

_Starfire stared at her in shocked confusion. "X-Xyannis! You wish for me to lie to them? But why? Surely—"_

_"I want to sever my ties with them… forever."_

_"But do you not want to leave this wretched life?"_

_"There is nothing more I want than to be free, but when I do break free of bondage, I will not seek them. I will find another life; without them."_

_Starfire scowled, but she nodded. Xyannis had done so much for her and this was one request that she probably wouldn't be able to fulfill if she wanted to; dying somewhat limited one's options of travel. "How shall I find them?"_

_"They will be easy to find in Kalapatt. All you need to do is ask where Karras, Salja and Tharras live."_

_"Karras…"_

_"He is my brother. Salja is my mother and Tharras my father."_

_Starfire stared up at her forlornly, and before she could stop herself, she blurted out another question. "Do you hate them so much?"_

_Xyannis laughed softly. "It is not hate. I am past hate."_

_Starfire met eyes with her, and when she searched for emotion, a chill ran down Starfire's spine, because in Xyannis' eyes, there was nothing; just a cold, voided stare. _

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Where there once was nothing, Starfire could definitely say there was now _something. _

The blurred shapes began to take on a somewhat hazy resolution. They were nothing but blotches of white a minute ago, but now she was seeing a separation of colors; a steadily growing sense of detail.

There was Robin, dressed in his gray half-zip sweater, leather jacket and jeans. Beside him was Bruce, dressed in a black suit and a dapper red tie. Near her was Dr. Mueller. He had on a while lab gown, as expected, but he had on a tie, as well, though perhaps not as dapper looking as Bruce. The thick white hair on his head and atop his lip hid most of his features.

Her insecurity began to melt away the clearer things became.

Starfire looked at her hand and held it up to eye level. She began to see the lines on her palm and it was only then that it finally sank in.

_I could see._

Her optimism faltered for a split heartbeat and she wondered if she was dreaming the entire thing. Maybe her barrage of disjointed memories were actually parts of this dream she was yet to wake up from. Maybe she was still asleep on the couch while Robin watched his basketball game.

_Or maybe, I am awake and this is actually happening._

That was a definite possibility.

She looked around her, and while there was still a slightly blurry haze outlining everything, there was no denying it anymore.

"I could see," she said in an amazed whisper.

Ultimately, it was her words that mattered most.

Someone let out a collected breath, and then a choked laugh. It was Robin, and at the sound of his voice, she turned to him.

It was, perhaps, more amazing than she could explain, because for the first time since she set foot on this Earth, she met eyes with Richard Grayson, and they were the most beautiful cerulean blues she had ever seen.

_To be continued…_

* * *

Closing notes: Wasn't I just the little killjoy in this chapter? ::laughs sadistically:: I'll try to cutdown on flashbacks in the future, I promise!

Go to my bios for my thanks!


	3. Princess, Slave and Titan

Standard disclaimers apply

**PATH TO TAMARAN**

**Chapter Three – Princess, Slave and Titan**

They were like jewels that shone brilliantly with inner light; like a million symmetrical facets cut to free the soul resting within the gems.

Starfire stared at Robin as her mind began to fill with thoughts brought by vision. She momentarily thought about how it was a waste to hide such eyes behind a mask and how privileged she was to have seen it.

He cocked a smile and she could hardly believe how much character it gave his face. He came closer; perhaps Dr. Mueller allowed him.

He gently clasped her upper arm before rubbing it gently. "'You okay?"

She blinked, realizing that she had been staring. She felt the heat rise in her cheeks at the same time a laugh escaped her. She pressed a hand to her lips, embarrassed by her strange responses, but she kept smiling, and she looked shyly at everyone else; at everything else.

Dr. Mueller was grinning; she could tell even through his mustache, and behind him stood Bruce. There was a ghost of a smile on his face and his eyes showed only the slightest hint of pleasure.

"Hot _dog! _What did I tell you?" cried Dr. Mueller, turning to face Bruce.

Bruce nodded and stuck out his hand. "Congratulations. Excellent work."

Dr. Mueller shook it enthusiastically while Bruce gave him a pat on the back.

Still somewhat dazed from it all, Starfire looked at Robin again. He was still smiling his half smile but an expression of curiosity, mingled with his amusement, began to surface.

"What?" he asked.

Unable to tear her gaze away from him, she shook her head. She was happy; she knew she was, and she wanted to kiss him; share the joy, but Robin would be mortified beyond belief if she engaged him in a lip lock in front of Bruce. So instead she reached for his hand and clasped it.

"Well, Kori," said Bruce. "Judging by that smile on your face, this study is a galactic success."

She felt another blush come over her as she looked upon Bruce's face and realized just how devastatingly handsome the billionaire "playboy" was. He had black hair, perfectly elegant in its cut, and while the blueness of his eyes were only a few shades darker than Robin's, they were more penetrating, like he was reading into one's very soul. He was groomed to perfection and everything about him looked expensive, from the threads of his suit to perhaps the mousse that had been used to hold his hair. She could very well understand how he could sweep women off their feet by his mere presence. She stared at him for a heartbeat before transferring her gaze back to Robin.

Of course, there were differences in the bone structure of their faces. For one thing, Bruce's face was square, like his jaw was made of rock. Robin's face was softer around the edges. Robin's nose was more delicate, whereas Bruce had a somewhat aristocratic lift to it. Naturally, being much older, Bruce was broader of breadth, and perhaps one could already tell that Bruce's body would always be larger than Robin's acrobatic frame. But that aside, their hair and eyes; their stance, the way they moved their shoulders, the way they gestured with their hands and tilted their heads back cockily, were so strikingly similar in demeanor that Starfire had to wonder if they were just pretending to be unrelated. She had seen brothers acting less alike than Robin and Bruce did. It was uncanny.

She tried to say something to Bruce. _"Thank you," _or maybe even, _"It is nice to finally see you!" _But his overwhelming presence struck her speechless, and she only prayed Robin wouldn't read much into it. He could be so jealous when it came to Bruce. Remnants—she knew—of his overall competitiveness when it came to his foster father. Sometimes it made her wonder if she shouldn't have admitted to Robin before that Batman and Bruce Wayne fascinated her.

Starfire could already detect the beginnings of a raised eyebrow on Robin's features and in her haste to allay him of his insecurities, she found herself blurting out the truth. "I am overwhelmed." Thankfully, the truth worked well with the given situation.

Bruce chuckled. "I bet you are. Think you could handle it?"

"I believe so."

"Good." He gave Starfire a pat on the shoulder. "Congratulations, Kori. Your bravery's been an inspiration."

A new blush rose in her cheeks. She wanted to tell Bruce it was silly of him to think that she had anything to do with it, but that would seem ungracious. She merely smiled in response.

He turned to Robin. "I trust you'll stay with her for the rest of the afternoon?"

Robin looked as if he was going to roll his eyes. "Of course."

With that settled, Bruce referred to Dr. Mueller and they agreed to emerge together, if only to break the good news to the other scientists.

"I'll be back in a minute," said Dr. Mueller. He shot Robin a warning glance before he left the room with Bruce.

Starfire did not waste much time. She pulled Robin by the collar of his jacket and kissed him. He had little choice, but judging by the way he responded he didn't mind it one bit.

When they pulled apart, Starfire kept indulging herself by meeting his gaze intently. His blues were mesmerizing, at least for now. She couldn't exactly tell if it was the high of seeing again or whether it was really the kind of effect his eyes would keep having on her. A small smile began to form on her lips.

He grinned. "Like what you're seeing?"

She stifled a giggle, only slightly embarrassed. "I suppose I had that coming. It is just—"

Her words were interrupted by the sound of distant clapping and cheerful cries. It made her smile. She would have the opportunity to thank everyone who participated in the study. After Dr. Mueller was done examining her, she would have to be examined by the other doctors. It would be like a retest of sorts, similar to the ones she took before, except these tests would be taken over a period of time, approximately within a period of three weeks. Close observation was necessary, perhaps for an even longer time, especially since the procedure they applied was basically experimental, but having taken into consideration her lifestyle and alien biology, they couldn't very well keep her for observation for a year.

By the time she had to leave Gotham, she would have a physician ready for her in Jump City who would have been thoroughly briefed of her case. She would be seeing that physician regularly for the next few months and it would have to serve as a satisfactory arrangement for all the concerned scientists.

"I guess Bruce and Dr. Mueller told them the good news," said Robin. "We should call the Titans later. I'm sure they'd want to know it all worked out."

She nodded. "This is rather exciting, is it not? _Now_ it is beginning to sink in and—oh, I feel like celebrating! Maybe we should go out tonight, Richard. I would like to see Gotham. The park, or maybe the museum! Ooh, perhaps _Le Canari Do'r! _You said it had a glorious view of the city. But then it might be too cold to dine outdoors, wouldn't it?"

He brushed his knuckles softly against her cheek and he smiled. "You know, you could ask me anything right now..." He kissed her softly.

Her eyes flashed mischievously. "I always wondered what I could get my fearless leader to do when he is willing to indulge me."

Robin's eyebrow twitched slightly, an amused look on his face. "Hey, I indulge you on _several_ occasions."

"Because you usually know what I like, but maybe I have come up with a few things you would have to figure out..."

"Oh, _really?"_Now his eyebrow was in full arch. He cocked a grin and she believed right then that the grin, combined with the spell his eyes had put on her, would one day be her demise.

She was about to say something particularly naughty when there was a sound from the hallway.

"IxNay the exsay alktay. Doc's coming back," he muttered in her ear.

She rolled her eyes, realizing what Robin had said. He had explained pig Latin to her before and it was quite easy to understand once one got used to it, however strange the mechanics of the dialect was. She pinched him, half grinning, half scowling. _"You_ started it!" she muttered back.

"Ouch! Quiet! Here he comes."

"Well now, missy! You've caused quite a stir out there!" said Dr. Mueller as he strode back in the room. "Step aside, sonny. Let the doctor do his work."

Starfire bit her lip to keep from laughing at the scowl on Robin's face. He didn't like being called "sonny" the way he hadn't liked being called "runt" or "squirt". Unfortunately for Robin, he couldn't tell the good Dr. Mueller off.

Robin stepped back and let Dr. Mueller examined her eyes individually.

"Well," began Dr. Mueller. "The theory is that your eyesight will get better as you go along, but until we could have actually evidence of all this, it's still just a theory. C'mon over to this here machine, will you, missy?"

Starfire got to her feet and took hold of her walking cane, only to realize she didn't need it anymore. "Goodness," she whispered, feeling overwhelmed all over again.

Robin looked at her worriedly, but Dr. Mueller merely took her gently by the elbow and led her.

"There, there now, missy. It's all a bit funky in your mind now, seeing again all of a sudden, but no need to rush yourself. Sit here... now, before you get any ideas of going out to celebrate..." Dr. Mueller led her to a seat, the height of which he adjusted. "I don't think you should do anything very strenuous, you know? Go out to dinner, visit a museum, listen to some live music in Gotham Central Park... something nice and relaxing, then try to turn in earlier than twelve. Don't go to 'em smoky nightclubs with strobe lights to get yourself wasted on some kamikaze mixed drink."

Starfire wondered briefly if she seemed like the type to do such a thing. Her first experience with nightclubs didn't go very well, after all. "I do not think we will be venturing into nightclubs, doctor."

Dr. Mueller tossed a thumb over his shoulder at Robin. "You make sure young Grayson over there doesn't drag you into one."

Robin's eyebrow arched in surprise. "Me, doctor?"

"Yep. I was young once, too, you know. Always tryin' to impress girls, I was. Took 'em to swanky wine houses with snazzy cigar rooms. Us playboys, we know how to impress the ladies, but you have to keep it light this time, young Grayson; for the young miss. Keep it nice and wholesome."

Robin rolled his eyes, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed over his chest. "Playboys, huh? Yeah, well I'll... try to keep all that in mind."

Starfire tried her best to stifle a giggle.

As Dr. Mueller busied himself adjusting the equipment, she took a moment to take in the scene.

Most of the room was white, the chairs and tables matching the walls, ceilings and floors. It had a floor area of nine feet by ten and its ceiling was not set so high. By the look of things, Dr. Mueller hadn't quite settled in. The only additions he had made to the room were a stack of papers which were neatly piled on the table and a portable black radio. It was entirely possible that this was not Dr. Mueller's office, merely a temporary facility for him to do whatever he needed to do regarding _her._

He swung a large piece of equipment in front of her, setting her chin on a rest so that her eyes would be looking through a pair of scopes. There were various other set ups in the room, all of them sparkling new. They made her a bit nervous, but as long as there were no needles lying around, she could bear it.

As Dr. Mueller conducted his examination, Robin stood patiently to the side, watching everything with curiosity. Every once in a while, the doctor would address his questions to Robin, asking Dick Grayson about school and about what "college kids did nowadays" to have fun.

"You mean other than impressing ladies with swanky wine houses and snazzy cigar rooms?" replied Robin good-humoredly. It made Dr. Mueller laugh.

Robin gave his standard answers, and as always, they were fuss-free; when possible, ambivalent. He never liked lying more than was necessary.

When Dr. Mueller's examination was done, Starfire was ushered out to the rest of the scientists. She received many congratulations and Starfire had a lot of thanks to give out, after which they conducted more tests and the occasional interview.

She was secretly hoping that one of the coat-clad scientists would actually be the anesthesiologist, Dr. George Leeman, but when no one had come up to her, gushing in his fabulous way, she assumed he was not around.

At around five in the afternoon, her session with one of the many neurophysiologists was cut short by the arrival of a lab-coat garbed red-head. She was tall and statuesque, her high-heel clad feet only making her taller. She strode on over to the table and stared down the neurophysiologist.

Dr. Hughs, a petite, brown-haired woman with dark, pixie-like features, was not the least bit intimidated. She frowned up at the new arrival and said, "Chase, I've got a long way to go. Don't you be taking the subject now!"

Starfire stared up at Dr. Meridian in awe. She hadn't realized that Dr. Meridian was so beautiful, but then again, Chase Meridian used to have _something_ with Bruce Wayne, so it was only logical to suppose that she wasn't going to be ordinary. After all, Bruce Wayne was the sort of man who managed to find the beautiful brainy ones.

"It's almost five thirty," said Dr. Meridian in a haughty tone. "The _subject_ is done here. She'll be back day after next. You could continue your examination from there."

"But—"

"No buts, Lisa."

"I ought to kick yours..."

Dr. Meridian laughed, patting Dr. Hughs' shoulder. "Come on, Kori. I'm busting you out of here."

Starfire smiled. She murmured her thanks to Dr. Hughs who gave her dire warnings of Dr. Meridian before letting Starfire go with a friendly shoo. As they stepped out on the hallway, Dr. Meridian flashed Starfire a broad smile.

"Prettiest eyes I ever did see," said the doctor. "Congratulations."

Starfire grinned back. "Thank you for everything you have done for me."

Dr. Meridian patted her shoulder. "You're welcome."

"Richard..."

"Oh, he's outside with Dr. Leeman."

Starfire stifled a giggle of delight. She saw the two blurry figures a short distance away, Dr. Leeman's back turned to her. As Starfire and Dr. Meridian approached them, Starfire could hear Dr. Leeman talking in a very serious tone.

"I always liked what Kenneth Cole does to leather jackets," said Dr. Leeman. He was staring intently at the material of Robin's coat. "The stitching is superb and the overall design gives fine form to the wearer. Very chic, very... I'm-fashionable-and-dangerous-so-get-in-line-with-my-other-groupies!"

Robin's brows knotted, staring at the exact same spot on his jacket, maybe hoping to see what Dr. Leeman was seeing. "Really? I just... kinda thought it looked cool."

"Ugh! The intricacies of style and design are utterly wasted on the heterosexual man. My daddy would have been _so proud _of you_."_

"Hey... give me some credit. I give _Cargo_ issues a peek once in a while. And some straight guys have actually evolved into—whatchamacallit—_Metro-_something..."

"Metrosexual; an urban male with a strong aesthetic sense who spends a great deal of money on his appearance and lifestyle."

Robin made a gesture of agreement. "I can be that."

"Oh? Where do you go for your haircuts?"

"The barbershop."

Dr. Leeman rolled his eyes. "Honey, you don't even qualify for the semis."

Robin tried again. "An expensive barbershop?"

"What's going on here?" asked Dr. Meridian when they joined the circle.

Robin was just about to explain when Dr. Leeman began to fawn over Starfire.

Starfire smiled upon seeing a very well-groomed man with rich brown hair, a comely face and a distinctly gym-trimmed physique under the lab coat. He wasn't young, but she would wager he was in better shape than most boys _her_ age.

She thanked Dr. Leeman profusely, flashing him her best smile as he told her he had been keeping his fingers crossed the whole day, just in case.

When Dr. Meridian began to lead them to the exits, Dr. Leeman took Starfire's hand and patted it gently.

"You poor dear. You must be exhausted from all this testing."

Starfire's eyes widened momentarily. "Oh, I do not feel exhausted at all. In fact, I feel strangely energized."

Robin grinned. "Adrenaline. Gotta love it."

Dr. Leeman and Dr. Meridian walked them all the way to the basement parking where Alfred was waiting for them.

Alfred held the door to the black stretch jaguar open as Starfire flashed him a brilliant smile. It was the only explanation he needed. He smiled back, though he remained as reserved as always.

When they were all settled in, Alfred called out from the driver's seat. "Back to the mansion, Master Richard?"

"Yep."

"Very good, sir."

Starfire threaded her fingers through Robin's to get his attention.

He turned to look, an expectant expression on his face.

She had wanted to tell him that she loved his eyes, the way they lit up the nuances of his various smiles and gave his handsome face the character that made it so irresistible, but she found herself holding back, smiling at the small, personal secret.

When she didn't say anything, he arched an eyebrow, an amused grin spread on his face. "What?"

She shook her head, placing an affectionate kiss on his cheek.

He looked baffled for a heartbeat before he shrugged it off and sat back to relax on his seat.

Starfire leaned back as well, appreciating his profile while the sights of Gotham passed her by outside.

888888888888888

Starfire had seen castles and palaces when she was Princess of Tamaran. She had seen citadels and fortresses when she was a slave of Gordane. She had seen chateaus nestled atop sprawling hills; manors spanning islands in the middle of grand lakes; and villas lending luxury to otherwise virgin coastlines. When she first arrived on Earth, she had seen buildings made of stone, glass, gold, iron, bronze, jade, wood and marble. But when she saw the Wayne Manor from afar for the first time, she was actually quite astonished.

Certainly, the mansion was huge; massive and luxurious, and while it should have been expected, she was surprised to realize that she had been expecting something else. Perhaps it was illogical for her to assume that the house would be anything like Robin's Spartan, no-nonsense approach to everything else; after all, when he moved into the Wayne household, the structure was already there, but she thought maybe she had assumed that Bruce Wayne's fringeless, even _more _no-nonsense attitude would be a big influence in the house's design. To find that the façade of the house was anything _but_ fringeless was a bit of a surprise. It wasn't a dream-castle, that was for certain. The intricate masonry and stone gargoyles looked strong, businesslike and unmoving, but she hadn't expected anything of the sort at all. She had imagined straight lines, geometric symmetry and lots and lots of white. The concept of stone carvings, faces, gray stone and red tiles didn't fit well with what she thought of Bruce Wayne.

It wasn't ugly; that was for certain. It was actually quite beautiful, and the thought that Robin lived in it before was actually quite amusing, considering he exhibited none of the traits she had endured from princes and young lords, but she was caught off-balance, nonetheless. It was a home fit for a king, yet it housed knights; dashing, though they were.

If Robin noticed the awe in her expression, he made no mention of it.

Starfire tried to affect nonchalance inside the house, even if actually looked more opulent than she imagined.

Before Alfred left them, he asked if they would be having dinner in the house.

Robin's reply was simply, "Nah."

It made Starfire feel somewhat giddy.

They retired to their respective rooms and Starfire proceeded to get ready. After she had showered, she walked into her closet and felt hopelessly overwhelmed. As a princess in Tamaran she had been too young to appreciate things like clothes, shoes and accessories. Her hand-maidens and _k'norfka_ had always seen to her appearance, so she had taken a lot of it for granted. The walk-in closets of her Gordanian masters hadn't been nearly as appealing, either, considering that a lot of their clothing consisted of lamellar armor and bland jewelry. The last time she had been so moved by an extensive wardrobe was when she served as Lady-in-Waiting for Queen Salja, and even then, there were at least half-a-dozen other ladies who made decisions before she did. Her greatest contribution to Queen Salja's appearance had been in terms of casting her vote when it came to which shoe, among two, would best go with the gown that had already been chosen. So all in all, she has had very little experience when it came to huge wardrobes.

Starfire looked from left to right as she walked the aisle. It wasn't nearly as big as the royal closets she had been in, but to have so many clothes—just for her—seemed slightly nauseating.

Amidst the supremely fashionable array of clothing, she cautiously went with a simple mustard colored dress with an elegant black lace border. The shoes presented a bit of a problem, considering they all seemed heeled to the heavens. She wondered vaguely about how women managed to walk around in such high shoes and worried about her own balancing skills. She eventually settled for black velvet ones with ankle straps and a dainty black ribbon at the arch. When she was done, she looked at the full length mirror and was surprised at the sophistication she saw. She hadn't looked this grown up since she went after Robin and Kitty to the prom, and even then, she didn't seem quite as mature.

The length of the dress reached her knees, but it really did give a nice line to her curves. She wore no jewelry but for the band on her right upper arm. She touched it briefly, amazed at how she had managed to preserve it in spite of everything she had gone through.

Satisfied with the way she looked, she selected a coat to go with the entire thing and met with Robin.

When she reached the front hall, she felt an odd delight seeing the expression on Robin's face, and when he told her, "You look... really nice." That was compliment enough for her. Robin never liked to let on that he got _too_ impressed.

She, on the other hand, did not mind showing how impressed she was. He looked impossibly handsome in his striped coat and tie, and perhaps a bit embarrassed by her glowing compliments, he explained that the suit was very similar to what he wore that night Bruce had his cheese and caviar party.

Starfire smiled mischievously. "Oh, you mean that night I kissed you and you did nothing?"

He reddened terribly, taking her coat and helping her in it. "Yeah. You should know by now that I'm not all that great with first kisses."

Starfire laughed, remembering _his _version of his first kiss with Babs as opposed to Babs' version of it.

_"She kissed me and it was nice... but I got kinda scared too," _was how he told it.

Babs had been more candid. _"I kissed him and he looked sick to his stomach. I thought maybe I had bad breath but no, I knew there was nothing wrong with me, so it must be him. Looked really cute, though. Turned out he was just afraid of what Bruce might think about him getting kissy with the Commissioner's niece. I swear, even at twelve, Robin was neurotic as hell."_

Starfire and Robin made for the garage where they got into one of the many luxury cars. He had little choice but to go around town as Richard Grayson, but as it was, being the billionaire's ward gave him certain privileges, especially pertaining to places that gave celebrities a certain degree of privacy.

He took her to a restaurant midtown that was an Asian-South-American fusion. The restaurant sat at the top of one of Gotham's highest skyscrapers and gave an excellent view of the city. The most exclusive tables in the restaurant were set up in private rooms and Robin said, "I didn't even have to tell them who I was. They just said they'd take care of everything and here we are... best seats in the house."

She could detect a hint of amazement in his tone and it occurred to her that he was _still_ surprised by the way people in Gotham treated Dick Grayson. She figured it was because he had been gone from Gotham long enough to forget that he was—essentially—considered some kind of urban prince by virtue of the urban King Bruce.

The view of the city was everything she had dreamed of. Jump City boasted about its skyline; the way it was set against a golden bridge and sprawling hills, but Starfire saw how Gotham's cosmopolitan ambience made everything seem dazzling and sophisticated. The buildings spread through out the view were alive with lights, as were the streets below. Beaming from the ground to the sky were powerful halogen lamps, swinging back and forth, most of them projecting some kind of ad, usually for beer.

"The Bat Light often shows up somewhere there," said Robin softly, lest they be heard. He pointed to the sky.

Starfire could only imagine it. "Was there ever a Robin Light?" She had phrased her question carefully, in case someone was eavesdropping.

He laughed at that. "No. Sidekicks don't get lights like that. The Bat Light ensures the dual package when Batman deems it necessary."

Starfire leaned closer to him, lowering her voice to a whisper. "Was there ever a time he did not deem your being there necessary?"

He cocked an amused smile. "A lot of times. Annoyed the hell out of me."

She smiled back sympathetically. She did not need him to explain; she knew much about Robin and Batman's relationship from what he had told her, and she had grown to understand why the two had to go their separate ways.

"Hey," he said in a softly chiding tone. "We're always talking about _me, _which is strange, because you know I don't like talking about me."

Robin knew everything he needed to know about her; her moods, her thought patterns, her vaguely painted history... essentially, he didn't need to know anymore about her past, but of course, it also meant he knew she was holding something back, a fact she could not lie her way out of. She could never lie to Robin. Robin was so honest with her and he deserved no less, but as always, she was reluctant to tell him that part of her life that she herself wanted to forget.

"Is the past very important to you?"

He seemed surprised by it. "Well, I wouldn't put it that way. What's done is done, I suppose. Hopefully, we've learned from our mistakes; grown from it. But then that's just it. The past, more often than not, makes you what you are. It gives you a more in-depth understanding of what you are now. I guess I just want to know all of you... in case I missed something." He chuckled lightly.

She stifled a sigh. She did not want him to think she was exasperated by it, because she knew she had to tell him everything sooner or later. She did want him to know all of her, and even she had to admit that what she was now had been greatly influenced by what she had been. "W-What do you want to know?"

"Well, for starters, you could tell me about Galfore."

Starfire was greatly relieved, and maybe a bit grateful. She wouldn't be surprised if Robin had deliberately chosen an easy topic, something he knew wouldn't demand so much from her. "I have explained to you what a _k'norfka_ is, you remember?"

"Bodyguard and nanny?"

She laughed. "Yes, but a _k'norfka's_ responsibility is far greater than it seems. _K'norfkas_ make sure that the child they are caring for goes to her lessons and learns her lessons well. They make certain that the child learns the rudimentary skills for reading, social graces and fighting. They employ punishment, just like a real parent would, and they would tuck you into bed, just like a real parent would... Galfore was the _k'norfka_ any child could ask for. He was very kind to me, and he taught me many things. He prepared me well for Okaara, and whenever I went home on holidays, he would always make my stay in Tamaran special. He never forgot my birthday and he always sent me treats from home. When I—when I _left _for good he shed tears for me. He was not ashamed to cry. The Grand Ruler and all his senators saw him, but he didn't care. He broke protocol. In the face of one's superiors, it was considered a great humiliation to weep, but he wept, and he didn't care who saw him. I have a holograph of him. Would you like to see?"

Robin seemed astonished. "Heck yeah. I never knew you had—er—holographs."

She smiled. "I have kept a few. Some of them... got lost when my armband was—well—what you would call _pawned, _but the one of Galfore's survived, though barely." She removed her armband and showed Robin the underside of it.

There were shallow carvings on it, invisible from the outside. She traced her finger down one of the carvings and a palm-sized rotating holograph appeared. Very scratchy; very old, but it showed a detailed enough picture of Galfore. She held her finger down on one of the etchings in her armband and the holograph held still.

Robin stared at it, though whether it was because he was looking at Galfore or gaping at the holograph itself, she couldn't exactly tell until he said, "That's handy."

She smiled.

In another minute, he was tilting his head to the side. "Galfore doesn't look like _anyone's_ nanny."

"That is true. Even in Tamaran, he did not fit the stereotype." She grinned. Galfore, even in the diminutive holograph, looked huge; almost barbaric. His broad shoulders, his overwhelming height, his gigantic hands and his mass of fiery red hair made him look fierce, but Starfire knew there wasn't a gentler man in all of Tamaran. He spoke in a great, booming voice, but she had never heard him utter a cruel word. "But it was just as well, yes? Having a _k'norfka _like him, no one dared to hurt me!"

Robin grinned. "I guess not. Was he exclusively your _k'norfka?_ Didn't he take care of your sister and brother, too?"

"Blackfire... well, she never was like any Tamaranian. She rejected every _k'norfka_ she was given, and eventually, they just stopped trying to give her one. She seemed fine without one, anyway. It was as if she could do everything by herself, even at a young age. Goodness, I did believe she was magnificent."

Robin's eyebrow arched, but he said nothing. She couldn't blame him for having a terrible opinion of Blackfire, but he respected the fact that Blackfire was her sister, and perhaps he understood that as bad as her sister had been, she couldn't bring herself to completely hate Blackfire... at least not yet.

Starfire steered the subject to safer waters. "Ryand'r had a _k'norfka_ of course, but he spent so much time with Galfore and I that Ryand'r practically had two _k'norfkas_"

Their food arrived and all talk of her past was set aside for lighter matters. After dinner, he took her to the Gotham Central Park where the light and sound show would be playing in the choreographed fountain for the first time in six months.

The orchestra-played music was beautiful, floating out of the speakers and seemingly shaping the water as it shot out of the pool. It towered above spectators, reflecting the lights being flashed from beneath the pond's surface. It was poetry in motion; a perfect synchronization of music and visual art. The power wielded by the performance on its spectators on that night of unexpected Spring would forever be unmeasured, but it gave lovers every reason to celebrate with it. Halfway through the show, Robin and Starfire were noticing nothing and no one except each other. So engaged were they that the music had long died down before realizing that very few had stayed to watch the calm waters.

To finish the evening, Robin did take Starfire to _La Canari Do'r. _The veranda was still closed for the season, but the doors doubled as wide-glass windows, so that diners could still have their view.

The hour was late, and apart from them, there were only two diners left. The loudest sound in the room was the occasional peep of the caramel colored canary poised at a perfect distance from the heater.

Staring at the view from her seat, Starfire barely noticed the loud purr of the fat cat as it rubbed against her leg.

"She likes you," said Robin.

Starfire petted her, scratching the cat at her scruff and then under her chin, where the cat seemed to like it best. She touched it collar and found the name tag. She had to squint in the dimness to make out the name, but she found a light source and giggled when she was able to read it. "This cat's name is Boyd."

Robin cocked an amused grin. "I see. Poor Boyd's neutered." At the mention of its name, Boyd turned his attentions to Robin, who _wasn't_ as affectionate as Starfire. Robin gave it a pat, or more a scrunch, that had Boyd rattling his head to right his flattened ears. Boyd meowed in complaint of his ill-treated whiskers and padded back to Starfire's feet, where it happily curled up and settled, its tail tickling Starfire's ankles.

"I knew a cat once," said Starfire. She hesitated a moment before resuming. "It wasn't really a cat. It was something similar; one could say an alien cat. In the planet of Karna, there are three intelligent life forms. The Karnans, the Gordanians and the Ssilithissts. The Karnans have a feline quality to their movements and appearance, and they did keep _cats._ Which seemed odd at first, but then I came to Earth and some people kept monkeys as pets..."

Robin could help but laugh.

Starfire smiled. "For the Karnans and their pet cats, it was perhaps the same. I was... _there _for a while, and I—I had no one to talk to, especially at night." _Karnans didn't keep Slaves. _"One of the Karnan children in the house felt bad for me, so she lent me a cat. The child said that the cats were supposed to catch these rat-like pests at night, but this cat was too old to hunt, and it only wanted to lie around and find cold spots, so that it wouldn't feel so hot in its fur. The cat kept me company for two weeks and it wasn't as lazy as they said it was; it only wanted attention."

"Didn't the children talk to you?"

Starfire was just about to tell him that the children hadn't been allowed to talk to the Slave Girl. It was, after all, the reason she brought up the subject in the first place; to tell him all about her life before she met him and the Titans, but her tongue suddenly wouldn't cooperate, until finally, she gave up the fight. "No. Their Karnan parents were very strict about playing. They could only play on the free days; for us, that meant the weekends, and on the weekends, the children were sent to their other relatives, so I was left by myself."

"Where were Blackfire and Ryand'r?"

"Ryand'r was with our parents. Blackfire... was somewhere else."

Robin arched an eyebrow uncertainly. "But... weren't _you_ with your parents? Who were you with in Karna?"

_Oops. _A moment later, she figured it was just as well she slipped. "I—I was alone. Well, I was with someone, but it wasn't family. I was with someone I worked for."

Robin looked really confused now. "Like a boss?"

"Something like that," she replied, a somewhat painful expression on her face. "You remember that I told you I left to go on my own when I was nine."

Robin blinked. "I thought that was something like—well, boarding school. Or maybe college, like it's done here, or something..."

"No. It was not like that—at all."

There was a brief silence between them as they drank their hot chocolate. She could feel Robin's eyes on her, waiting for her to continue. When she didn't, his expectant look became more apparent.

"Well?" he said carefully. "What was it then?"

She opened her mouth to speak but nothing came out. She tried a different path, hoping to get around what was bothering her. "At that time, I was already thirteen. I had been gone from home a long time." She found herself stopping again, reluctant to go on.

He leaned over, perhaps sensing her discomfort. He took her hand, looking at her with his blue eyes that had so enchanted her all evening. "Kori, what were you doing so far away from home, by yourself, at such a young age?"

"I..." Her brows knotted. "I was... doing things for my planet—at first—but then I... I suddenly felt I had do things for my sister. I..." She looked at her hands, one of them intertwined with Robin's. She couldn't go on. Maybe not tonight; on the night she was supposed to be happy. She looked up and pointed at the sky behind Robin. "Look, Richard! A shooting star!"

He kept his gaze on her a second too long, just long enough for her to realize that she wasn't fooling him in the slightest, before he turned to look where she was pointing.

"You missed it," she said, smiling through the guilt she felt. It had been like telling an opponent to look behind him and then punching him in the gut. "But you could still make a wish, yes?"

His gaze met hers again and it was searching. "Yes." He reached out, cupping her face gently. It was meant to be a reassuring gesture, but it also kept her from averting her eyes. "You know you could tell me anything," he said in a confidential tone. "You don't have to hide anything from me. I won't—" He paused, as if to think of the right words. "I don't know... for whatever reason you're not telling me, you don't have to be afraid."

Starfire believed him, and somehow, her insecurities melted away. She thought with fanciful amusement that his beautiful gaze could make her do anything, and that perhaps it was best he didn't know that. "Let us go back to the manor, Richard. I will tell you as much of it as I could when we get there."

He nodded, caressing her cheek one last time before he fished a few bills from out of his wallet and gave Boyd a final scrunch on the head.

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They decided to talk in one of the many lounge rooms of the Wayne Manor. Robin lit the fireplace, seeing that Starfire looked a bit cold.

When they settled themselves on the couch, Starfire started her tale. She began it at the onset of the Citadellian siege of the Vegan Solar System. For many years, before the sieges, there had been talk of the Citadellian government desiring great power. It had all been rumor until at last, there were confirmed reports of the Citadellians forming great armies as they allied themselves with the terrible Gordanians. When finally, the Citadellians began to attack the planets, it was too late for everyone else to rally against them. She told him how news of their planetary invasions were filled with vicious ferocity and Okaaran-trained precision, and that perhaps the planets that they invaded were already beaten long before the Citadellians crossed their space borders.

Before each planet was conquered, the Citadellians would initiate negotiations, and upon the table, the Citadellians made an offer. The planet may choose to let negotiations fall through, mount a resistant and settle the matter in full combat, _or _the planet may negotiate the terms of their colonization.

Starfire went on to explain. "Over the past few years, _none_ have won against a Citadellian-Gordanian attack. Races were annihilated, the survivors of which were pushed into hiding in the wastelands of their own planet. There was simply no way Tamaran could have fought against them, and survived. We were warriors, and we would die fighting, but we were a small planet, too long left in peace. We were, after all, one of the last unconquered planets in the Vegan System. By sheer number alone, we had no chance. So father chose to negotiate."

Perhaps thinking that it was that point which Starfire had been reluctant to tell him about, Robin squeezed her shoulder reassuringly and said, "It was the only thing he could do."

She smiled wanly and nodded. "The terms were the same for father as it was for all the other planets: Citadellians and Gordanians would require tribute, aside from the alteration of trade routes and export volume to accommodate their needs. There were a lot of economic and political agreements that were discussed in detail, but most important of all, the Citadellians required _something, _that if the Tamaranians refused to give it, there would be no negotiations at all. It was perhaps the reason so many planets chose to fight rather than submit. It was this: The Citadellians required the enslavement of the crown prince or princess of the planet."

Robin's jaw dropped, shock evident on his face. "Kori, did your father—"

"No. He _did not. _He refused to give me up."

Starfire could see the relief in Robin's face. She hoped he would be able to cope with what she said next.

"I gave myself up. Father did not want to do it, but I insisted for my people. We were a proud race; we were _beautiful, _Richard. I could not bear the thought of my people dying, being driven to caves and deserts like _rats_ just because _I _did not want to be a slave. After all, how bad could it be?"

"Oh God, Kori..."

"It _was not_ so bad," she told him hastily. He looked so upset, like it would give him sleepless nights for weeks. She was willing to downplay the hardships, if only for him. "I managed. I was given in service to one of the Gordanian noble-houses. Relatively, I was placed quite well. I gained a friend there who looked out for me; another slave girl named Xyannis. She was much older than I was, and I suppose she felt very sorry for me. I didn't know it at the time, but she had been royalty as well. Anyway, for several months, she and I were something like companions. She taught me things to make it easier for me and when—things were difficult, she stayed with me. We were there for one another, so you see, I... I managed."

He did not look quite as upset, but he had grown more somber than he was wont. She already decided that she wouldn't tell Robin all the gory details. There was no need to be cruel. He didn't need to know about the lashings or the starvation, nor did she have to tell him about the strange experiments the Gordanians were so prone to performing on their drugged slaves; and most of all, he didn't need to know about how the elder slaves suffered sexual abuse, nor about how close she had come to it. The details were most irrelevant. And it would only make the story unnecessarily long.

"Nearing a year through my slavery, I was told that I was going to be sent back to Tamaran." She breathed deeply. "Richard, I truly believed, at the time, that I was going to die. Slaves did not go back to their home planets on their own two feet. Slaves only went home in a coffin. I thought I had displeased my masters in some way and that they were going to get rid of me for good; because it was cheaper that way."

Robin looked sick to his stomach and she quickly went on lest he began to look any worse.

"But it was not like that this time. This time, I really _was_ going home. Every single time I look back on it, I could not help but wonder if it had been better if they had just killed me..."

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_Starfire could not believe her eyes. _

_A mass of rich violet hair and purple eyes; even in her plainest clothes, she was majestic._

_She was a vision against the dimness of early morning, but she quickly turned into a nightmare as she came at Starfire, fingers curved into talon-like claws._

_Suddenly, Starfire couldn't breathe, pinned to the wall as she was by her throat. Her eyes widened as she stared into Blackfire's glare, hate emanating from her orbs. _

_The slave chamber rose in uproar, and the other slaves fell upon Blackfire, trying to pull her away, but Blackfire was strong, and she flung them all away from her without even sparing them a glance. _

_"This is all your fault!" hissed Blackfire. _

_Starfire's vision blurred the more she was being deprived of oxygen. _

_Suddenly she was free and Xyannis was standing above Blackfire angrily. _

_Starfire fell to her hands and knees, rasping for breath. Her shoulders heaved at the effort and she coughed, forcing herself to find that even pattern of inhaling and exhaling. _

_The others tried to soothe her and while she was grateful for it, she was too confused to thank them. Blackfire was here; Blackfire had attacked her. _

"This is all your fault!" _Blackfire had said. What did she mean by that?_

_"Lay a hand on Starfire again and I will choke you myself!" said Xyannis to Blackfire's prone form. _

_Blackfire glared up at Xyannis from the floor. "Stay out of this!"_

_"I will not! We suffer enough abuse from our masters. I will not have slaves abusing each other and I will certainly not let you harm that child!"_

_Blackfire growled. "She is _not_ a child. She is the _bane_ of my existence. She should never have been born!"_

_"Enough!"_

_"Wh-Why?" piped Starfire, finally finding the breath to speak. "Sister, why such anger?"_

_Xyannis and the others looked only mildly surprised. While it was evident that Blackfire and Starfire were of the same species, their features were so different as to warrant them unrelated._

_For the first time, Starfire saw tears in Blackfire's eyes. She wiped it away quickly, but Starfire has seen the sorrow before Blackfire replaced it with resentment. _

_"I am here—" Blackfire began in bitter fury "—because father wants you back. I am here because I am _disposable _and you are not_._"_

_It struck Starfire like a whip and she stared at Blackfire in horror. At first she couldn't believe it. She refused to believe that her father would make such a horrendous exchange. "H-He wouldn't. Father would do no such thing! We are all his children. No parent would—" And then Starfire saw the collar upon Blackfire's neck. She knew then that this time, Blackfire wasn't lying; that she was now a slave._

_"Shut up, Starfire! Just shut up!" Blackfire was yelling, and none of the other slaves were telling her to keep it down. "You don't know _anything! _You are delusional and naïve and _stupid! _Don't you understand? We are nothing but currency to him. He could use us to bargain for kingdoms and secure alliances, but that was before they began turning us into slaves. Now we are being used to buy each other: the worthless child for the more important crown princess. X'Hal, I should not have trusted you during the tests of Okaara!"_

_Starfire cried out ruefully. "You know I did not mean to pass it! I did not want—"_

_Blackfire screamed, rising from the ground and pouncing on Starfire without form or stance. Starfire fell back, protecting herself instinctively as Blackfire clawed at her. _

_She felt wretched enough not to fight back. She felt ashamed for being who she was, for being the one who deserved to be let free when everyone else would be left behind. For a moment, she wished Blackfire would grab her by the throat again and kill her for real, but Blackfire was pulled off once more. Xyannis, being Kalappattian, was the only one strong enough to overcome her. _

_Xyannis threw Blackfire back, stepping in front of Starfire protectively. "We all have to deal with what we're dealt with. Whatever your life has brought you, you cannot blame it on Starfire. Leave her be!"_

_Blackfire stubbornly tried to catch Starfire's gaze._

_"I said leave her be," repeated Xyannis in a more menacing tone. _

_Starfire knew Blackfire could take on Xyannis and Xyannis wouldn't stand a chance, but perhaps Blackfire merely wanted to let Starfire understand her hatred, and in that, Blackfire had succeeded. There was no more need for bloodshed. _

_Xyannis then turned to Starfire, gathering Starfire into her arms. Starfire clung to her, accepting the comfort Xyannis offered._

_"Don't worry about us, child. We are happy that you are escaping this terrible place."_

_"B-But at my sister's expense..."_

_"There is nothing you could do about that. The decision was not yours to make."_

_"I would rather stay than leave her here. I would rather stay than leave all of you—"_

_"No. There is no plight worse than slavery."_

_Starfire closed her eyes, nuzzling against Xyannis._

_A few minutes later, the warden came to take Starfire from the barracks. She was tossed into a cold bath, disinfected and then given decent clothes to wear. _

_When she was presented to her father's emissaries, she didn't look much like the slave she was. Perhaps she was much thinner, but all her teeth were in place and no nails had been removed. The emissaries were just glad she was alive with all her limbs intact. There had been tales of slaves removed of their hands or feet as punishment for one thing or another. Those tales were probably true, but her master's household did not believe in mutilating the slaves. A limbless slave was less efficient._

_The relieved look on the emissaries' faces angered Starfire. Did they think Blackfire worth the exchange as well? Did they, like her father, think it was better Blackfire than her? _

_Then it was no wonder Blackfire hated her so much. It was no wonder Blackfire had grown so bitter. _

_She said nothing, her sullen expression somewhat puzzling to them, but they did not ask her why she looked so gloomy. After the formalities with the Gordanian seneschal, the emissaries took her back to the ship._

_When they spoke to her, she did not reply, and when they insisted on making eye contact, she showed them nothing but voided emotions._

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"It was the first time I felt true hatred, Richard," she said softly. "I hated my father; my parents; my _lineage. _I could not believe that he had given Blackfire away like—like—a duplicate _trading card_. What Blackfire had told me in her fit of anger became so real for me that I left Gordane a lot less naïve; perhaps forever disillusioned about what my life was all about. That night, I escaped from the ship, mid-stargate. I did not want to go back to Tamaran and _see_ anyone remotely responsible for the exchange of my sister. I also felt that if I stayed away, my brother would be safe from becoming a commodity, because there would be no other child left to carry the crown. I went back to Gordane and somehow, I was able to speak to Blackfire again. I told her I would take her place; that I would help her escape and that they would not attack Tamaran if I willingly presented myself as an able replacement, but she did not want to have anything to do with me anymore. She told me that the mere thought that she would owe me anything sickened her. She said she would rather rot in her slave quarters.

"I did not give up on her easily, but my constant trips to the slave quarters eventually got me caught by other slave-traders. I was too miserable to try and get away, and I still wanted an opportunity to help my sister escape. I just got traded over and over again and I got farther and farther away from Blackfire. Finally, after years of enslavement, I heard that Blackfire had broken free. The stories were vague, and in a way, I found it hard to believe, but then when I was in Karna—the one with the cat—I _saw her,_ and she was not a slave. I saw her in the market when I was made to accompany my master and I wanted to call out to her, but my master would be furious if I spoke out of turn. Besides, if indeed she had escaped, then she would be a fugitive, and I did not want to be responsible for her getting caught. I had done enough to her. I would just have to pray that if I got out of my slavery alive, I would be able to find her again.

"That same week, I was able to escape. It happened very quickly, and it was a one in a million chance. My master traded me that week, supposedly for a better slave, so I was put on a slave ship named _Q'st'r_. I still remember it. One of guards, perhaps new to the trade... _removed _my collar."

"Collar?" Robin said it in a half-indignant tone. She had expected as much from him. She didn't want to have to mention it, but it was an important facet of her slavery, and she had no choice.

"It dampens species powers, so I could not fly or fire bolts. It had other uses as well, but that is perhaps the most important. The guard removed my collar that night because—because he did not know any better." _Because__ he wanted to see what it was like to use an unfettered Tamaranian slave for his own pleasure. _"And I took advantage of the situation. I got away, and I looked for my sister. I followed leads for a year, until finally, I found her in the outskirts of Euphorix, in one of its satellite colonies. Suffice it to say, we had both changed, and while I had, in all my slaving years, been driven by hope; I did not know what drove _her. _She spoke to me, yes, and she did not seem angry, but she was... _aloof. _You saw how she was when she came here, didn't you? It was something like that. She had all these people she knew and she was fitting in just fine while I was just _there._ Finally, she off-handedly told me that she a lot of things to do; places to see, and that I should not worry about her; that she would be fine _on her own._ She gave me her contact information, and I suppose it was then that I _finally_ got the hint." Starfire laughed shamefacedly. "I sought so desperately to find her, only to discover that she did not exactly want to be found by me. We went our separate ways then. Whenever I tried to get in touch with her, her contact information had changed. Eventually, I would track her down through the communication systems, but her contact information never stayed the same for long. Always changing... she was not trying to get away from me; just that she did not care if I knew where she was or if I did not."

Starfire finally fell silent. Her story of slavery had ended, and it was time for her to see exactly how it affected him.

He wasn't staring at her anymore. His gaze was directed to the fire, but she could tell that her revelations were far beyond what he had been expecting from her. He made a motion to speak, but whatever words he had died on his own lips.

She decided to help him. "Richard, are you disgusted of me?" Of course she knew he wasn't, but it was certain to get a rise out of him and help him get his senses back on track.

Just as expected, he responded immediately and with conviction. He took her by the shoulders and looked her in the eyes. "I would _never _be disgusted of you, Kori. _Never._Anyone who dares to think less of you because of what you've been through will get their ass kicked to tomorrow."

She smiled affectionately. "And what do you think of my father? My family? I am sure your thoughts of them are different now, aren't they?"

His expression changed, then. "I... don't know what to think about them. I've never been a king who had the responsibility of running a planet. I don't know what would drive me to make decisions. I haven't the slightest clue about how my decisions would be influenced if I had to answer to a senate and then to my people. If you think I would judge your father, Kori... maybe I have. Maybe I couldn't help it, but I also know I have no right."

"I have judged him," she said softly.

He nodded, touching her chin delicately. "I'll keep my judgments to myself."

"Will your judgment ever change the way you feel about me?"

"I told you, Kori. You don't have to be afraid." He took her in an embrace, just to reassure her and she sank against him, feeling a great sense of relief.

She did not know how long they stayed on that couch, but they could have fallen asleep on it if the fire hadn't shown signs of dying out.

They retired to the chambers and as they closed themselves inside her room, Starfire realized, with increasing passion, that it was the first time she would gaze upon Robin's jewel-like eyes as he made love to all of her; princess, slave, Titan.

_To be continued..._

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Closing notes: This story has a pretty overwhelming reception. Check my thanks in my bios.


	4. Foreboding

Author's note: There will be mention in this chapter of Ares and Hephaestus; both of them _Justice League Unlimited_ characters, but don't worry, you need not be a follower of the JLU series for this chapter to make sense. Just that I think it's important for you to realize how I did not make them up for this story; that they actually do exist in the JLU-verse.

Thank you for your time and I hope you enjoy this next chapter!

Standard disclaimers apply.

**PATH TO TAMARAN**

**Chapter Four – Foreboding**

Starfire eyed Robin across the Wayne Manor training room floor and tried her best to stifle a grin. She failed as a tiny smile insisted on emerging from her lips. She gripped the bo-staff in her hand a bit tighter, as if it would help her stay serious, but of course, it did not help her focus in the least.

Robin's eyebrow arched in disapproval as he went into stance, bo-staff still retracted in his grip. "What are you smiling at?"

She tried her best to take his displeased tone seriously. She knew Robin demanded her focus during these training sessions; and yes, he had gotten pissed, for real, when she gave him less than a hundred percent. She understood how important it all was, especially when she had to cope with her impairment in the past, but this was the first time she would spar with him again with the benefit of her eyesight. While she had sparred with him several times before she lost her vision, their sparring sessions had been different then; she had fought with a technique brought from her Okaaran training.

This sparring session was different. Robin had taught her how to fight sightless, and now she had to adjust to the fact that she had to use those same moves with the benefit of vision. Apart from the reality that it was not as easy as people would think, she realized that she had other difficulties to contend with on that morning.

Looking at him from across the hall, she couldn't seem to get the previous night's _encounter_ out of her mind.

_Last night was glorious, _she thought wistfully. Watching the way he moved, seeing the way he touched her, beholding the look on his face… the mere memory of it was enough to make her smile foolishly and suppress a pleasant shudder.

Starfire took deep, calming breaths, hoping to find her center amidst her less-than-wholesome thoughts. If she didn't begin focusing soon, Robin would be sorely put off.

"Ready?" asked Robin.

She nodded, even if she wasn't as focused as she'd hoped.

Robin initiated the attack, the retracted bo-staff a sure sign that he wanted to get her annoyed enough to concentrate on the fight. A retracted bo-staff was Robin's wordless way of saying, "You're not good enough to fight full-staff with, today. I think I'll go easy on you."

Sightless as she was before, she wouldn't know the staff was retracted until several minutes into the fight, but this time, it was plain to see from the onset, and while ordinarily, it would hit home in her psyche, giving her the resolution to focus, today was _indeed_ different. Today, she was still a bit too drunk with Robin's caresses from the previous night.

Starfire shifted to block and was only glad she managed it with exceptional grace. She would have to take it one step at a time, this focus. Her mind was impossibly preoccupied.

Robin, however, wasn't going to get fooled. He frowned. "Come on… you could do better than that. What's wrong with you?"

He launched another attack and he moved with such rapid succession that she knew if she didn't pull away soon, he would get a hit in, and she believed that Robin was even more displeased about getting hits in with her than she was.

Starfire jumped and flipped backwards, just so she could get away, but as usual, Robin was two steps ahead of her. Before she could make a graceful landing, he extended his bo-staff and swept it behind her knees, landing her flat on her back on the mattress.

She blinked in surprise and he looked down at her, shaking his head.

"That was shameful," he said, crouching down beside her. "You're not concentrating."

Starfire felt a flush rise in her cheeks. "I know. I am sorry."

To her relief, he was still too much in his instructor mode to notice her embarrassed blush. "I gave you at least three openings for attack, but you didn't take advantage of them. _What's_ the matter?"

She reddened even more, pushing herself up and averting her eyes from him shyly. She hadn't even noticed the openings, but she wasn't going to tell _him _that. "I just—I could not seem to find my center. I am—" _remembering__ you from last night _"—still quite overwhelmed."

He helped her get to her feet and for a moment, he said nothing. She looked up and she caught him staring at her with his signature lopsided look. She couldn't help but feel he could see right through her.

She pushed some of the hair that had come loose from her braid self-consciously and waited for him to say something. She wished he would scold her; at least that would help her get into a fighting frame of mind.

"Maybe this wasn't a good idea. I shouldn't be pushing you like this, you only just recovered and—"

Starfire was surprised by what he said, mainly because he had never hesitated about being tough on her before. It was very unsettling, and she reacted accordingly. "Oh, but I am fine! I just need to find my focus, that is all! Physically, I am more than ready—"

He smirked, a mischievous gleam in his eyes. "Oh, really?"

It made her blush, uncertain as she was about what he meant. It was _not_ helping matters. "Don't tease, Richard."

A look of mild surprise crossed his face and it was gradually being replaced by amusement. "Well, I'm sorry. I meant no offense."

Starfire pouted. He was _definitely _teasing. "You did not offend."

She felt silly discussing personal matters when they were "working". Robin separated work and play so perfectly that he never had problems about mixing the two, whereas she found it extremely difficult to separate things the way he did. Even when he teased, he seemed so collected that she could never beat him at his own game.

Starfire was beyond astonished when he took her hand and pulled her closer.

"Maybe we'll put off your training until you're less overwhelmed." He chuckled. "And you know… the Titans have been meaning to talk to you."

Her eyes widened, first in shock, then in shame. She had completely forgotten about them. She felt terrible.

He laughed softly. "I sent them a message last night before we left for dinner, so they already know, but Cy said that if I didn't get you on the comm as soon as possible, he would come on over here and make me sorry for being remiss of my duties."

Starfire frowned up at him. "Why did you not remind me?"

Robin pretended to think about it. "Well, there's that very important talk we had after dinner…" He stroked her cheek with the back of his hand, as if he were offering her comfort for it. "And then after _that—_well, I sure as hell was preoccupied."

She bit her lip as she stifled a smile, liking how his voice had dropped to a drawl at his last statement. She supposed it was safe to slip her arms around him. Robin didn't mind so much when she mixed work and play when he let his guard down on occasion. Besides, the way things were going, he had left "work" behind.

"I suppose I could forgive you, then," she said, tiptoeing to giggle in his ear.

He let her be affectionate, smiling as he held her, but when she administered some teeth grazing, he chuckled and peeled her away from him. "You do _not_ want to be doing that if you honestly want to talk to the Titans within the next two hours."

The implied promise of _two_ _hours_ was altogether too tempting and Starfire actually paused to think about it.

Robin shook his head in feigned disapproval. "Greedy, greedy…. we're talking to the Titans _now. _Come on." He took her gently by the wrist and dragged her to the secret elevator heading to the Bat Cave.

Starfire tried to keep a straight face as she said. "Well, it is some time around two in the morning at Jump City. I am sure the Titans would appreciate another two hours of sleep…"

He cornered her in the box car, hinting on a lazy smile as he caged her with his arms. "Don't tease, Kori." His tone made her shudder, and she recognized his words as the ones she had used earlier. He was so much better at catching her off-guard than she was, and while it was mostly a pleasant thing, she could pretend to be a bit miffed at the fact that he had her right in the palm of his hand.

She feigned a scowl, but it only made him chuckle.

The elevator doors opened to a facility deep into the hollows of the Wayne Manor. Batman's secret control center was enormous. There were wide spaces, a high ceiling and an endless dance of lights. Computer panels lined the huge wall and work tables were set all over, holding apparatus of various functions. At one side of the cave was the equipment storage facility; everything Batman needed to arm himself against the worse of Gotham's super villains.

The monitor for the mainframe spanned several feet high and stretched several feet in width. She took a moment to stare at the entire thing in numb awe. She had envisioned something of the sort; the space and the visual efficiency, but it was so much more magnificent than it was in her imagination.

Recomposing herself, she followed Robin into the facility. He offered her the seat in front of the Bat Computer and punched the communication codes in for her.

She did seriously wonder if the Titans wouldn't mind the hour, but she suspected Robin took some kind of sick pleasure interrupting their sleep. Cyborg, Beast Boy and Raven had, after all, each interrupted _them_ while they were in the middle of _things_ one time or another.

He contacted them all at the same time and they responded accordingly, their faces appearing and splitting the screen in three.

Cyborg, looking terribly grumpy, showed up on screen. "Who dis?"

Raven looked scary enough as she was; terrifying when rudely awakened. _"What?"_

Beast Boy gave a soft whine. "And I was just getting to the good part of the dream…"

Starfire hesitated, but Robin cocked a grin, crossing his arms over his chest. "Cyborg said to get Starfire on the comm as soon as possible. Well, here she is!"

Raven and Beast Boy's eyes shifted to Cyborg irritably.

Cyborg frowned. "Thank you, Robin."

Starfire found herself smiling, whether or not they were glad to see her. "Er—hehe—well, Robin told you the good news. The operation was a great success!"

Their gazes shifted to her, and while they still looked terribly drowsy, small smiles began to form on their lips. She didn't know why, but it warmed her immeasurably to see them that way; grumpy from interrupted slumber, only to look genuinely happy for her in spite of it.

"Fabulous," said Raven. She tried to sound sarcastic, but it probably sounded better than she would have wanted because she followed it with a roll of her eyes.

Starfire felt herself getting emotional for a moment, seeing the subtle nuances on their faces; their personalities shining through their sleepy stares. It made her happy.

They told her congratulations in their various ways and Beast Boy told her to hurry on back the moment testing was done.

"I've a whole bunch of movies waiting to be viewed." He yawned as he said it, but Starfire was grateful for the thought.

She smiled. "I do not wish to keep you awake much longer. We will talk again, yes? When you are all better disposed."

Cyborg cracked a drowsy grin. "Yup. Robin, I won't forget this."

"I bet you won't."

Starfire giggled. "Sweet dreams, everyone." They said their respective goodbyes before she finally cut off the signal. She turned to Robin. "That was _mean."_

He cocked a smile. "No, that was payback. But aren't you glad I did it?"

"I am, not because of 'payback', but because it gave me warm and fuzzy feelings seeing them happy for me."

"You're the only person I know who could get warm and fuzzy feelings from Raven, but I suppose that's what I love about you."

She grinned.

Robin took their time in the Bat Cave to explain to her how she could still take her shifts on the Blackfire Watch from Gotham without getting in Batman's way. She was glad he was sensitive to her need to be useful on the matter.

He explained to her that he had worked an alternative schedule for the Titans while she was in Gotham. It meant that every other day, she wouldn't be expected to take her shift, but the hours were mainly workable. He assured her there was nothing to worry about.

After they left the Bat Cave, Robin did not suggest that they go back to training. Instead, they had breakfast, after which Robin suggested that he show her around Gotham which was a lot more picturesque during the day. She was thrilled, of course.

They spent the rest of the day being together, knowing that the following morning, Robin would be heading back to Jump City. She knew they were only going to be apart for five days, but it was the longest time they had been separated.

As reserved as Robin relatively was when it came to his feelings, he couldn't help admitting just how much he missed her when she wasn't at the tower. Most of the time, he said such things off-handedly, mainly to avoid being unnecessarily sappy, but she supposed he wasn't used to being separated from her either, so maybe he felt compelled to talk about it somewhat seriously.

He was driving when he brought it up and he flashed her a half-embarrassed look. "I know you don't call me up at the tower because you don't want to disturb me when I'm working, but—" he shrugged "—I don't mind, really. I know you won't be doing it every hour, or something like that. I—" he paused, reddening "I just miss you, that's all."

Starfire was unbelievably endeared, smiling from the passenger's seat as Robin awkwardly tried to keep his composure. "Then maybe I will surprise you with a call, yes?"

"Or two," he added, after which he was embarrassed again.

Starfire succeeded in suppressing her smile of delight. It was always refreshing to see Robin come undone. "Or two," she agreed.

He brought her to as many places as he could, and while he was a lot less demonstrative in public during broad daylight, he did hold her hand. Several times, they were stopped by strangers because he was Dick Grayson; less times because she was Starfire. She wasn't as popular in Gotham as she was in Jump City, and in casual clothing, she didn't stand out in a crowd as much.

When Robin wasn't being approached, he was being stared at, and she knew, instinctively, that many admired his looks, most of all.

She would always be the first to admit that Robin was supremely easy on the eyes, made only easier from her perspective because she admired him for being her leader and her pillar of strength. She appreciated all his good qualities, even if perhaps she had seen the worse of him, whether it was deceiving her and the rest of the team to catch the bad guy or seeing him stumble off the bed after annihilating his alarm clock in the morning. He was real to her; not a myth, yet she adored him, possibly beyond reason. She could only imagine how everyone else must look at him, awed by his demeanor, his handsome face, his unassuming glamour… and they didn't even know he was Robin! All they supposedly saw was Richard Grayson, celebrity; possible heir to the Bruce Wayne billions.

Robin had always joked that Dick Grayson was famous for being famous, because "he" had done absolutely nothing to merit his fame, in that respect. "All I've done as Dick Grayson was walk down red carpets. How stupid is that?"

She had noticed that Robin was always the last person to take Richard Grayson's public image seriously, but she had her own thoughts on the matter. Perhaps the people thought they were merely seeing Bruce Wayne's ward, but what they didn't know was that they were being drawn by Robin's inherent allure as the Boy Wonder and leader of the Titans. Everyone needed a hero, and perhaps, no matter how much Richard Grayson covered it up with designer clothing and red-carpet glitz, the gleam of his heroic spirit couldn't entirely be eclipsed.

They passed an extremely good looking woman as they walked on the Gotham Central Park sidewalk. She was tall, svelte, voluptuous and stylish. She looked like she belonged on the cover of a fashion magazine. Starfire caught her looking at Robin and she felt a pang of the old insecurity rise in her.

"She is beautiful," she said, mostly to herself. She had always thought well about her looks, but these women's sophistication was always something she couldn't help admire and feel slightly envious of. She could never be such a woman: perfect and poised. She would always be slightly naïve; somewhat silly; never quite grown up.

She had caught the boys, yes, even Robin, admire such women. He never talked about it out loud like Cyborg and Beast Boy did, but Robin wasn't above giving pretty girls a glance.

Robin heard her and followed her gaze. He arched an eyebrow and draped an arm over Starfire's shoulders to pull her close. "Takes one to know one, gorgeous."

She laughed, in spite of herself. Robin may not be a poet, but his casually put, unpretentious compliments meant more to her than any flowery words spoken by the bards of lore.

She placed a grateful kiss on his cheek and it made him chuckle. She did, however, feel that there was an underlying current to her insecurities. There was something still bothering her, but she could not exactly pinpoint what it was.

She shrugged it off for the meantime, telling herself that it was just some of her residual envy of these living dolls.

They returned to the manor for dinner, and Bruce was there to join them.

Starfire tried not to giggle when Bruce made reminders to Robin about her having an early start the next day.

Robin had raised an eyebrow, annoyed. "What are you telling _me_ for?"

"I'm just _saying," _said Bruce, calmly slicing his Chicken Marsala.

Robin rolled his eyes, shaking his head. "It's not like I don't have an early day tomorrow too, you know."

Bruce shrugged. "Just _don't_ keep her up too late; that's all I'm saying."

It gave enough cause for Starfire to blush, even if Robin didn't seem the least bit embarrassed.

But rebellious as Robin tended to be when it came to the things Bruce told him to do and not to do, he never got Starfire involved in their petty disagreements. He said goodnight to her at her bedroom door. Perhaps their kiss had been steamier than they'd both be comfortable with retiring to their respective rooms alone, but they knew their responsibilities and they valiantly fought back the haze that so easily fell on them whenever they were caught in each other's embrace.

Starfire's last thought when she went to sleep was that sometimes, she wished they weren't as responsible as they were. There was no doubt in her mind that somehow, Robin felt the same way.

88888888888888

The next morning, after seeing Robin off to catch his flight, Starfire found herself practically choking on her waffles. The food hadn't lodged in her throat, but it made her cough horrendously, eyes watering from the effort.

Alfred came over and thumped on her back gently, offering her a glass of water.

Diana, seated across from her in a business suit, shot her a worried glance. "Are you alright?"

Bruce's brow creased ever so slightly.

When Starfire recovered her bearings, she was red in the face, but as to how much of it was attributed to her exertions or the reasons she started coughing in the first place, she wasn't sure.

She reread the article in the _Daily Gotham _just to make sure she wasn't imagining things. When she was certain that it wasn't a nightmare she couldn't wake up from, she stopped reading mid-article; it was too horrible; too embarrassing.

Alfred leaned over her. "Madame?"

"They are calling me a cheat!" she cried before she could stop herself.

It surprised almost everyone into a stupor.

Bruce, of course, was the first to react. _"Who's _calling you a cheat?"

Starfire blinked back her tears, handing the paper to Bruce miserably. _"The __Gotham__ Daily!_They say I am _canoodling _with Richard Grayson while 'poor Robin' is waiting faithfully for me in Jump City! I do not know what _canoodling_ means, but that picture they have there implies that 'canoodling' means more than 'being friends'. It is _mortifying!" _She buried her face in her hands, remembering the picture of her and Richard Grayson talking intimately while the light and water show went on in the background. Whoever had taken the picture went unnoticed, probably because there were countless spectators taking photographs.

Bruce's eyebrow arched and Starfire was given to remember how Bruce and Robin were so similar in so many ways. "Well, they're not really calling you a _cheat; _they're _asking_ if you are. See? 'Is Jump City's Sweetheart Cheating On Her Jump City Sweetheart?'"

Starfire wasn't the least bit comforted. Alfred patted her shoulder gently, placing a beautifully frosted éclair beside her. Instinctively, she began to eat it, hoping to drown her humiliation in chocolate.

Diana shot Bruce a disapproving look but Bruce ignored it, handing the paper over to Diana for her to read.

"Well, for the most part, they're sort of blaming Dick's charms for it," continued Bruce. "Cad that he is… leading Jump City's sweetheart to stray…"

Starfire clamped her hands over her ears and tried not to be annoyed by the look of amusement on his face. "Oh, I do not wish to hear it! How could they say such things of Richard? They do not even know him!"

Diana sniffed to convey her disgust as she stared at the article. "They don't have to know him. He's a celebrity therefore they consider him fair game. I think you could blame Bruce for cultivating Dick's reputation as Gotham's playboy _princeling__."_

Bruce cocked a smile. "If they think he's a spoiled, irresponsible brat who breaks women's hearts, then they wouldn't think him wholesome enough to dig up dirt on. It's safer for Robin the Boy Wonder that way."

Starfire began to protest, but Bruce merely shrugged.

"Don't worry about it. It will blow over in a couple of weeks. If not, it's easy to put something out there that will make them think this one's old news."

Alfred readied another comfort éclair for her as she headed towards polishing off the first one.

"B-But they called me a _tease! _I am _not_ a tease! Why do they say these things about me?" She stuffed the remainder of the first éclair in her mouth, chewing it down petulantly. She grabbed the second éclair. She was horribly distressed.

She had never, in her relatively public life, been called such things.

Certainly, she had dealt with the occasional bad write-up, and mostly, she had simply shrugged it off. The worse she had been called before this was "the alien with a fiery, uncontrollable and _dangerous_ temper". It took her a total of five minutes to get over the upset and then she never gave it another thought. She was upbeat enough to be comforted by the fact that she was doing some real good and that she had not chosen her career to gain popularity.

Starfire thought she was above how the public viewed her, but she was wrong. Apparently, being called a "tease", a "cheat" and "Richard Grayson's latest crumpet"in one article was terribly upsetting. To top it all off, it totally disparaged Robin's capacity for devotion. According to the article, shewas only as good as the next "crumpet" which was probably one celebrity event away. If she weren't so embarrassed about the entire thing, she would have called Robin that minute and poured her misery out to him.

Diana's lips narrowed to a line as she picked up her table knife to smear butter on her bread. _"Men_ are sometimes more trouble than they're worth. Kori could take on twenty crooks all by herself yet this newspaper reduces her to a 'crumpet' dangling off Dick's arm like a common starlet. It's infuriating."

Starfire felt even worse, hearing it from Diana. Bruce saw the look on her face and gave a soft sigh.

"Diana, you and I both know that the _Gotham__ Daily's _gossip section couldn't be taken seriously. About half a year ago, they said Starfire was pregnant with Robin's lovechild."

Starfire's eyes widened. It was the first time she heard about it. _"W-Whaaat?"_

Bruce seemed mildly surprised. "You mean Dick didn't tell you?"

"No!"

"He probably just didn't want to upset you. So you see that's the kind of tripe the _Gotham__ Daily's _gossip sectionthrives on."

Diana gave a huff. "Indeed, but I absolutely understand why Starfire is upset. It's disgraceful how society turns even the most distinguished of women into a red-carpet accessory."

Bruce smirked. "As opposed to turning a young man perfectly devoted to his girlfriend into a heart-breaking, roguish heel?"

Diana made a sound of disgust, raising the knife in her hand as if to pierce Bruce with it. "That's _your_ doing, so don't liken it to Kori's situation."

Bruce did not lose his smirk. "Well, that's true. The point being, Kori, that you'll just have to forget about this article and carry on with your life. There's no use dwelling on it. That's my advice to you."

Starfire wanted to pout, her mood made worse by the lovechild tidbit, but she supposed throwing a tantrum in front of Bruce and Diana would only make her feel more embarrassed.

She resolved to bring the newspaper article to the paper shredder. She supposed she could take comfort in seeing it obliterated by the tiny, electronically powered blades. Now, if only she could get her hands on all forty thousand copies…

She sighed, nodding in response to Bruce's words.

"Good lass," said Bruce, going back to his sausage and eggs breakfast.

Starfire wasn't feeling particularly good about herself at that moment.

Bruce finished his breakfast quickly, or perhaps, Starfire thought, she was just eating hers very slowly, preoccupied as her thoughts were. Whatever it was, he was done before she or Diana were halfway through and he excused himself, explaining that he had things to do in the office.

Starfire was mildly surprised that Bruce left Diana behind. She had been under the impression that the woman had arrived for breakfast to speak with Bruce. Now that Starfire was being left with Diana, it was obvious that Diana hadn't come to see Bruce after all.

Across the table, Diana stirred her black coffee. Starfire wondered why she did that, considering she hadn't put any cream or sugar in it.

"What time is your earliest engagement in the labs?" Diana asked.

Starfire felt just a tiny bit nervous. The last time Diana had spoken to her, the Princess of Themyscira showed that she knew more about Starfire than even Robin could profess. It had been greatly unsettling to Starfire, and now, even after having told Robin everything she could about herself, she was afraid of what Diana would say next.

Careful not to let her nervousness show, she replied to Diana's question. "Not until ten."

Diana nodded, taking a sip of her coffee. After setting the cup down, she spoke. "I didn't know you and _Robin_ were dating."

Starfire flushed. Coming from Diana, it sounded nothing like girl-talk. Magnetic as Diana was, with her luscious black hair and penetrating blue eyes, Starfire was always awed by her presence. It always felt like she was reporting to a superior. "We are. Almost five months now…" She supposed gushing about how glorious those five months were would be terribly inappropriate so she kept her enthusiasm to herself.

Diana shrugged, setting her teaspoon gently aside. "Bruce expected it to happen."

Starfire did not miss the un-voiced implication of, "I did not." Diana almost sounded as if her dating Robin was a bit of a disappointment.

Diana continued. "Have you told anyone about who you are? That you are the Crown Princess of Tamaran?"

"That I _was_ the Crown Princess of Tamaran?" said Starfire carefully. "Yes, I have. I told Robin first, and then the other Titans, even if it hardly matters…"

Diana arched an eyebrow, a hint of a smile on her lips. "Hardly matters? Personally, I think it matters a lot. It's not information you tack on in casual conversation."

Starfire had to admit that Diana's words had merit. She hadn't simply said to Robin, "You must pick up the coats at the cleaners, and oh—by the way—I am the Crown Princess of Tamaran. Here's the Laundromat receipt!"

When she told Robin, she had sat him down and went over it carefully. When she told the others, she gathered them over pizza and explained to them what she had explained to Robin. Suffice it to say, the pizza hadn't gotten touched. She supposed they didn't think the information too casual, either.

Starfire couldn't deny the fact, even after all those years of separation from her family, that her having been crown princess was significant. Why it still seemed important, Starfire didn't dare voice it.

Sitting with Diana now, she was afraid that those concerns were clamoring to be heard.

Starfire shrugged carefully, not the least bit eager to hurry things along. "It does not matter that I was crown princess. That fact changes nothing with regard to my life here on Earth. I have not acted like a princess since I was nine. I suspect that I have lost what upbringing I might have had to the rough life I had to lead when I left Tamaran. All in all, now that Robin and the others know, it makes no difference, really."

Diana chuckled softly. "That you don't put on any airs, that's for sure. Putting on airs and imposing one's rank in situations where it is unnecessary is ill-bred and unreasonable. I'd be disappointed in you if you did such a thing. I did not mean that your rank should matter, Kori. But you broached the matter of upbringing. Very well then, we shall talk about that. You were nine years old by the time you left Tamaran, yes? At that age, one couldn't possibly lose one's upbringing anymore. Primary example: Richard Grayson. He was nine as well when Bruce took him in, yet he remains free-spirited, greatly undefined by the lifestyle he led as a billionaire's ward, despite what the papers say. The truth being, he is indifferent to fortune and fame, swings around this house as if he were still in a circus and in essence, he remains nomadic. Do you think he will stay in Jump City for long?"

Starfire wasn't sure she liked the direction the conversation had taken.

"My point being," continued Diana "that you couldn't possibly cast off your nine years of upbringing anymore than Dick could, no matter what situation you found yourselves in after. Do you agree?"

Starfire brow furrowed. "I suppose so. Richard is nomadic?" She knew it was beside the point, but it bothered her, nonetheless. Where was he going, and more to the point, would he take her with him?

Diana smiled. "Yes, he is. He grew up that way; circuses never stay in one place and a circus child like Dick carries that trait over to the way they run their personal lives. The only reason he lasted as long as he did in Gotham was because Bruce gave him something to occupy himself with, but we both know what happened. Now Dick is in Jump City. He will stay there, perhaps, as long as you and he are together, but you know the saying: Nothing is certain except Death and Taxes."

That was greatly unsettling to Starfire.

Diana shrugged. "But we digress. Now that we've established how deeply ingrained one's upbringing could be, we could then delve on the matter of legacy…"

Starfire swallowed, shaken by the turn of the discussion. "I have no legacy. I removed myself from it when I—when I refused to return to Tamaran."

Diana arched an eyebrow. "I find it hard to believe that you shirked your responsibilities to your planet, Kori."

Starfire frowned, fidgeting on her seat. "I did not—I had my reasons."

Diana nodded, her expression impassive. "I am certain you did. I am not here to judge you and whatever reasons you may have had are—quite frankly—none of my business. I am simply… exploring this aspect of your life that you supposedly left behind. It isn't exactly something you could sweep under the carpet and forget…"

There was something in Diana's expression that Starfire caught. It alarmed Starfire. She had seen that look before, like Diana knew something. She wanted to point it out, to demand from Diana what she knew, yet Starfire was afraid of the answers.

"I will ask you this, Starfire: If your planet needs you, would you help them?"

Starfire stared, trying to determine where Diana's words were coming from. It suddenly felt as if she had dislodged herself from her body and that she was watching it happen from the side. She wanted to tell Diana no. She wanted to tell Diana that she didn't care what happened to Tamaran, but the words wouldn't form and she knew, right then, that if she said those words, they would be lies, and she already knew lying to Diana wasn't a good idea.

Be that as it may, she realized then what significance upbringing and legacy had with the entire discussion. She would _always_ be a princess. Years of slavery had done little to that part of her. She was raised as the Grand Ruler's daughter; reminded every so often that she had to learn her lessons because Second to the Throne meant just that: _Second, _if something happened to the _First. _That she _had_ become first was beside the point.

However, upbringing paled in comparison to the depth of legacy. Legacy was the spirit behind the upbringing. Her legacy was her sincere love for her people. It was legacy that gave her the wisdom and strength to undertake the sacrifice the Citadellians demanded of her. It was legacy that had compelled her to inform Tamaran of the danger Blackfire posed, and it would be legacy, ultimately, that would drive her to help her planet, should it need her, regardless of the ties she severed so long ago.

Diana leaned over the table slightly. "Kori? Would you?"

Starfire took a deep breath and nodded. "Yes. Yes, I would."

There was a strange quality to Diana's smile, as if sympathy accompanied it. "I thought so. Does Dick know your thoughts on the matter?"

Starfire thought that a strange follow-up question, but she gave it some consideration. "We have not discussed it quite like that. But… but he asked me something. I remember him asking a few months ago—and it remains distinct in my memories. He asked me if my being crown princess of a planet would not catch up on me, since I had left it behind and all…"

A look of mild surprise crossed Diana's face, as if she was ever so slightly impressed. "Perceptive of him. What did you say?"

Starfire didn't reply.

Diana shrugged after the silence stretched. "I could not blame you. I suppose I've underestimated enough men's capacity to carry emotional burdens with the same grace women do. Even if we know, deep down inside, that protecting our men from the reality of things couldn't change the truth; it merely puts it off. But honestly? I think highly enough of Dick to believe in his resilience. He was ready enough to ask the question; I think he deserved a truthful answer, but that is just me."

Starfire scowled. "And what answer is that? That at any given time, my people _just might_ show up on my doorstep and demand that I rule them?"

Diana chuckled. "Well… yes."

"I do not agree. As of this moment, it is merely a _remote_ possibility. I do not wish to worry Richard about such things; he worries enough about far too many matters, as it is."

"I see where you're coming from, Kori. By nature, women are nurturing. We do not wish to inflict unnecessary strain on those we love, and perhaps put in the same situation, I would do no different. But there are circumstances to consider. Tell me, what was the situation in Vega when you left it?"

The question gave Starfire pause again. She was beginning to wonder how the woman knew so much in the first place, because inquisitive as she was, she certainly seemed to be asking all the right questions.

When Starfire first heard about Blackfire's escape from slavery, she was approximately twelve-years-old. At the time, most of the Vegan planets had organized a rebellion against the Citadellians and Gordanians, and its success in overthrowing the ruling empire was imminent. Because the threat of an overwhelming attack had, by then, been removed from many planets, slaves found themselves free from the bonds that held them. They were allowed to attempt escape at last without endangering their planets, either through the help of the rebellion or through their own efforts. It was around Starfire's thirteenth year that she discovered that the rumors of Blackfire's escape were true. A short time after that, Starfire was given the opportunity to escape as well, and it was an opportunity she took.

Tamaran had fallen under protection of the rebellion by the time Blackfire escaped and Starfire had believed it meant she need not see to the needs of her planet. When she left Vega, the star system was well on its way to recovering from years of Citadellian-Gordanian rule.

Starfire left Tamaran behind because she knew it would do well on its own without her.

She answered Diana's question: "The Citadellian-Gordanian empire had been overthrown. Rightful kingdoms were restored. I could only assume it has been peaceful since then."

"Is there a possibility of a resurgence of that empire? Do you think it could ever return to power, stronger and more ambitious than ever?"

Starfire felt dread rising from the pit of her stomach. She took a moment to attempt orienting herself with the line of questioning; figure out what Diana was getting at. She failed. "Why are you asking me all these questions?" It came out softly, like speaking the words would upset a fragile balance of sorts if she spoke them too loudly.

Diana leaned back on her seat, her face gone blank for a moment. For a while, Diana said nothing. Finally, she spoke. "I have very strange acquaintances, Kori. I… know people who _know things. _To say they aren't of this world would seem inaccurate, since their existence depends on the reality _we _live in. Do you know who Ares is?"

"He is the Greek God of War."

"Correct. And as such, he thrives on conflict and chaos. When he is happy, I find that disturbing and I make it my business to find out what makes him giddy."

Starfire blinked. "B-But… Ares… the other Gods—they are mythical!"

Diana arched an eyebrow. Though she said nothing, her look conveyed just how nonsensical Starfire's response was. Diana went on. "And do you know who Hephaestus is?"

Starfire was compelled to answer, boggled as she was. "He is blacksmith to the Greek Gods…"

"Yes, and because of that, he is privy to many things. It is reasonable to assume that he converses with other craftsmen, among them Moerae; the three Greek fates. They tell each other things; gossip, if you will. Because of this, they learn things from one another; piece things together. Hephaestus, when asked the right questions, provides the answers. Put in the right frame of mind, I could get him to tell me things. What he has told me of late regarding Ares has been disturbing. There are signs that a war is brewing in the far system of Vega, and while Ares wouldn't normally concern himself with chaos twenty six light years away, it seems he is anticipating that chaos to spill over to this planet. I have consulted many… _beings _on this matter, and I was greatly surprised to discover that the fate of this planet has numerous ties to you. In a way, it makes sense. You are, after all, the only person I know from the Vegan Star System, and since you are princess of Tamaran, it seems logical to assume that your importance brings with it the consequences of your rank. However, it doesn't mean I understand why Earth gets involved in this conflict in the first place. I don't. I haven't a clue, but you understand my concern, Kori. Earth business is my business. I would like to know if there's any merit to Earth being in danger because of the possibility of another Vegan War."

Starfire's jaw dropped. She had no knowledge whatsoever of the state of things in Vega, and in a way, it felt surreal to have someone from Earth telling her about it. "Honestly… I do not know. I feel that my sister is planning something; you know of the Blackfire Watch, yes?"

Diana nodded. "We're tied to your network."

"I am yet unaware of her plans, but she is my only tie to Tamaran as of this moment. I am sorry, but it seems you know more than I do."

Diana kept her gaze fixed on Starfire and Starfire could almost feel her soul being searched. However, she had noting to hide, so she held her gaze, letting Diana search as much as she wanted. After a while, Diana sighed. "I believe you, and I suppose I would have to settle for the faith I have on your sense of duty. I know that Earth business is _also_ your business, am I correct?"

"Yes."

"I am also concerned about your sense of responsibility to Tamaran because it might tie in with your sense of responsibility to Earth. Make no mistake of it, Kori. Queen Making isn't my career. I haven't the patience for it, but if it is necessary to make a Crown Princess of you just so you could prevent war from spilling over to the Earth, I'd be willing to do as much of the work as the next person. So yes, I would like to be… _informed_ of pertinent matters, should any arise in the future."

Numbly, Starfire nodded. She stared at Diana and it finally dawned on her just how serious all of this was. It was unsettling enough to make her sick, and her uneasiness from the previous day—that odd sensation of insecurity she felt when that model had passed Robin by felt eerily tied to it. What was happening? Suddenly, it felt like the return of her vision was beginning to make her see things she didn't want to see.

Diana lazily picked up the _Gotham__ Daily _and gave the article another glance. "Now… perhaps you would like me to do something about this atrocious article in the paper?"

It was the strangest thing, but suddenly, Starfire didn't care what they printed about her in the _Gotham__ Daily. _

888888888888888

Sleep evaded Starfire that night. Exhausted as she was from the laboratory testing, her discussion with Diana that morning kept her awake. She had tried to soothe herself with images of Robin when she told him about the article in the _Gotham__ Daily._

He had frowned, said a few choice words about the writer, and then he began to make jokes about it, asking her if the camera had gotten his best side. His cavalier attitude towards the article helped her overcome the sting of "cheat", "tease" and "crumpet".

She felt better enough about it not to be embarrassed about the "lovechild" article when she brought it up.

"Lovechild?" asked Robin, eyebrow arched. "Oh, yeah! I think I remember that."

Starfire scowled. "Why did you not tell me about it?"

"Well, I figured since you were having my lovechild and all, you'd be the first person to know about it."

"Richard!"

He chuckled. "I don't know why I didn't tell you. I guess it was kind of embarrassing then. We weren't together yet, you know."

"I suppose."

"Maybe Dick Grayson should tell the press that he's dumping Starfire because she has a lovechild with Robin, the Boy Wonder."

"Richard John Grayson, don't you dare!"

His teasing eventually helped her get over the entire thing, and lying in bed, she found that she was more bothered by the fact that she hadn't told him about her conversation with Diana.

Just when she thought she had no more secrets to keep from Robin, there she was again, another secret in tow. When was it going to end?

Wearily, she got out of bed and decided to go to the kitchen. Perhaps she could drink something warm to settle her.

Finding a plaid woolen house robe to go over her sleepwear, she drifted out of her room and headed down the stairs to the kitchen. As she passed Bruce's study, she noticed a light shining from beneath the door.

_Funny that Bruce is in, _she thought. Usually, at that hour, Bruce was out being Batman. Perhaps the streets of Gotham were quiet that night.

Before she had given it any thought, she had her fist raised to the door, rapping it gently against the polished wood. She didn't know why she ventured to disturb him. She certainly hadn't planned on speaking to him.

For a while, no one responded and Starfire was just about to turn and leave when the door opened. Bruce stood at the threshold, still dressed in his business suit.

He arched an eyebrow upon seeing her. "Problem, Kori?"

Starfire's brows furrowed. There was no problem; just that she couldn't sleep and that by some impulse she had knocked on Bruce's door. Perhaps she had hoped he would have something to say that would put her troubled mind at ease.

"I could not sleep," she said, unable to come up with a better answer.

His eyebrow arched higher and she felt a bit embarrassed for it. She scolded herself mentally. _Silly! Did you think Bruce would be as kind about talking to you as Robin is when you have trouble sleeping? _

She hastily began to apologize. "I am sorry. I did not mean to disturb you. It is just that—"

Bruce stepped back and held the door open. "Why don't you come in? I have some herbal infusion hidden in my mini-bar. I'll make some for you. I promise it will help you relax."

Starfire hesitated a second before she nodded and drifted into Bruce's study. "Thank you."

"Have a seat." He gestured to the couch; probably the same couch she had sat in the first time she came to the Wayne Manor.

Giving the room a brief survey, she realized that the dimness of it was reminiscent of how Robin preferred his lighting. Though the orange-light lamps and the fire beyond the hearth lent a kind of comforting warmth to the dark and massive Victorian-style furnishings, they cast shadows on everything. The great office table set to one side of the room was large and intimidating enough to serve as a kind of armor; as if Bruce put it on to make him seem impenetrable. A person standing in front of the desk while Bruce sat behind it stood no chance of controlling the discussion.

At the center of the room, in front of the fireplace, was the lounging area. Soft couches and cushioned chairs were set over an expensive, antique rug and around a pristinely polished coffee table. The standing lamps were beautifully crafted, serving as accents to the somber-toned set-up. Paintings were hung up on the walls, the Romanticism from its muted colors made tragic by the pensive quality to the entire room.

Cautiously, as if afraid to offend the room itself, she settled on the sofa. To make herself more comfortable, she took a throw-pillow and put it on her lap. She randomly traced outlines on the pillow's soft surface, thinking about what she should discuss with Bruce while he made her tea.

After a while, he settled on the cushioned chair across from her, placing her mug of tea on the coffee table. She thanked him, taking up the mug and sniffing the tendrils of smoke that rose out of the liquid. It was deliciously fragrant and she sipped it, tasting a slight sweetness, like honey. She drank more of the brew, finding it soothing.

Bruce had some brandy in a glass.

Starfire looked up at Bruce and suddenly, she knew why she had knocked on his door. "Did you—did you know what Diana spoke to me about this morning?"

A ghost of a smile played on his lips. "Of course."

She nodded, pondering the knowledge. She was silent for moments, taking more of her tea.

Bruce rattled his brandy glass, the ice clinking softly. "I assume what you discussed is what's keeping you up."

Again, Starfire nodded.

Bruce drank some of his brandy. "I don't blame you. It's a lot to take in. I would be very upset if I was in your shoes."

She pressed her hands around the mug, liking its warmth. "You planned that Diana would be the one to tell me?"

"It was planned, yes. Initially, Diana wanted me to be the one to discuss it with you, but I didn't think it wise. In the first place, she was the one who gathered all the information. It would be best if you learned of it straight from her. In the second place, she said you and her are kindred. Whatever that means is of little consequence to me, but I could understand how it could help in broaching such a delicate subject. But most importantly…" Bruce shrugged. "Well, Dick wouldn't take kindly to me giving you that kind of burden. As it is, he's very protective of you, and his relationship with me is dysfunctional enough. He'd think I told you those things just to piss him off. He doesn't need that kind of aggravation and neither do I. Coming from Diana, Dick has no reason to pop a vein."

Starfire smiled wanly. "Richard is not that unreasonable when it comes to you."

"Probably, but why risk it? Like I said, the less aggravation the better. Speaking of which… are you going to tell him?"

Starfire slumped on her seat, sighing softly. "I do not wish to worry him over something so largely uncertain."

"He'll be pissed if he finds out I know something about you that he doesn't. Even more pissed because you could have told him."

She winced. "Yes, well, I shall deal with that when I have to. In the meantime, would it be impertinent for me to request that you say nothing of it to him?"

Bruce gave it a moment's thought. "Well, I won't say anything to him if that's what you want. That is—so long as he doesn't _have_ to know…"

She nodded. "I understand. If it becomes necessary to inform him, I will. As it is, I knew nothing of this possible resurgence until Diana told me. Even now… well, her sources are—" she searched for a polite word "—strange. I do not doubt Diana's instincts, but it never occurred to me that Ares and Hephaestus and Moerae were _real. _The mere thought that our fate could be controlled by a trio of women—"

"I know. Scary, isn't it?" He was smirking, and Starfire suspected he was referring to women in general, rather than the three women who happened to be Atropos, Lachesis and Clotho; weavers of the past, present and future on the tapestry known as fate.

Starfire smirked right back, letting him know she hadn't missed the implied jibe. "It is unsettling enough to know that these Greek myths are not—well, _myths, _but it is even more disturbing to think that there is indeed such a thing as a tapestry of fate…"

Bruce rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Oh, I wouldn't worry about that. At the risk of sounding… philosophical—something I assure you I am not—I suppose it's an undying truth: that we couldn't choose our fate, but it's been proven, time and again, that we could choose our destiny. Ordinarily, I wouldn't buy into this tripe, but an interesting actual case has presented itself, compelling me to believe its scientific feasibility. Case in point—you should know this."

"I should?"

He nodded. "Certainly. Robin allows me access to his digital case-file via the Bat Network. A lot of his files have helped me crack cases here in Gotham. I was doing research from his database when I stumbled upon an interesting subject-matter: Warp, and how you traveled through time with him. The file said you went twenty years into the future."

She was surprised by the extent of his knowledge concerning their on-goings in Jump City. "Yes, I did."

"I read what you saw in that future. It was fascinating, and I do believe it has given you a rare insight into the paradox of fate and destiny. I expect you to have realized that while there are inevitabilities, they are, ultimately, brought about by the choices we make. We can't change who we are, but we certainly have a hand on what we become. There was the future you found yourself in and then there's the future that could be. According to Robin's case file, it seems that by returning to the present time, you set into motion events that would make the future different from what you saw."

Starfire pondered his words before she nodded. "That is what I believe."

"So you know it isn't set in stone, much less a tapestry. You shouldn't let a trio of old crones bother you. Not worth it; scientifically speaking, of course."

She smiled and the memory of Raven's Tarot reading wafted through her mind. Indeed, even Raven told her that the Tarot doesn't tell the future; it offers possibilities, and from everything Starfire has learned so far, she could see how myth, the cosmos, and science concur at some level.

Comforting as Bruce's words were on matters of fate, she couldn't let go of the anxieties brought on by her conversation with Diana.

She drank more of her tea.

Bruce's eyebrow arched again. "I thought maybe my little lecture would bore you enough to help you find sleep. Did it work?"

Starfire shook her head. "No. I found it quite interesting, actually, but I think this tea may help." Just as she said it, she felt a yawn come to her. She set the cup down on the table and smiled.

He nodded. "That's good tea, better for the soporific I put in it."

She flashed him a worried expression. "You drugged me?"

"Very mildly. You'd be able to make it back to your room safely enough, or you could just stretch out on this couch and drop off on the spot. Whatever works for you."

She yawned again. "I think I will go back to my room."

He shrugged. It hardly mattered to him.

She rose, smiling at him sleepily. "I thank you, Bruce. The talk and the tea did help. I think I will find sleep now."

"Glad I could be of service."

Starfire told him goodnight and headed out of the study. It made her wonder whether Bruce slept at all. Maybe he _did _sleep on the couch a lot, but she would have to see it to believe it. It was difficult to imagine Gotham's dashing, debonair and poised billionaire bachelor sleeping on anything other than a proper bed.

Halfway up to her room, Starfire felt the soporific kicking in and she was glad she didn't have to be bothered with lifting one foot over the other to get where she wanted to go. She simply glided up the stairs, through the hallways and into her room. Nudging off her bunny slippers and letting her robe fall to the floor, she slid into the sheets of her bed, switched off her nightlight and snuggled against her pillows. In less than two minutes, she was asleep, her anxieties temporarily forgotten.

_To be continued…_

* * *

Author's closing notes: I'm sorry this took so long, and the truth is, I had planned to release chapter five with this, but I hadn't realized how busy this year's Thanksgiving was. I had planned to write during the entire four-day weekend, but it was simply impossible! I am praying I could release Chapter Five of this story and Chapter Two of "The Mighty Titan" this week. Dang it all…

My thanks in the bios!


	5. Knight Vision

Author's note: There will be some British slang in this chapter. You may scroll down for what they mean since… well, Starfire didn't really care to ask the meaning of most of them.

Standard disclaimers apply.

**PATH TO TAMARAN**

**Chapter Five – Knight Vision**

There were times in Starfire's life that she felt Robin to be perfection-incarnate; that he was everything a woman could hope for as a friend and lover; that he was everything a city needed to be safe; that his kindness and sense of justice was all the world could ask of a hero.

But then there were days Starfire realized that there was no such thing as a perfect person; that flaws were what made people admirable for their good qualities. Of course, to think so well of "flaws" only happened on hindsight; there was nothing pretty about flaws at the very moment it was making itself known.

Starfire pursed her lips, trying not to lose her temper as she watched Robin strap on his helmet and kick his motorcycle to life.

One thing about the Batcave, Robin considered it somewhat of a safe haven. Perhaps he wasn't as alert; wasn't as aware of his surroundings when he was in the protective enclosure of the cave of his mostly impenetrable mentor. It was the only reason he hadn't noticed her come through the door, furious as she was that once again, he was trying to make a trip to Bludhaven without her, and past midnight, too!

Perhaps he had no reason to suspect that she knew. She had, after all, only stumbled upon his plan by accident.

She had called him on his comm through the Bat computer, missing him, like she usually did when he was back in Jump City. Almost three weeks living in Gotham, she still hasn't gotten used to the long separations. So she called him, and for some reason, the signal was jammed. Her comm indicated that she would be connected to him in another minute, but she figured that the connection would not be as good as she'd want it to be, so she decided to use a more powerful communicator: the computer in the Bat cave.

Bruce, who would probably have kittens if he found out that Starfire was using the Bat computer to make calls to her boyfriend, had little power stopping her from using the computer, blissfully unaware as he was in that respect. He was certain that he had put enough guards in his system so that only he, and Robin, could use it. What he hadn't counted on was Robin teaching Starfire a thing or two about Bat-Security and Access. While Robin, probably to offer some kind of respect to his mentor, still kept most of the computer's functions inaccessible, she was given enough freedom into the system to suit her; contacting Robin was one of the freedoms she enjoyed. So she plugged her comm into the Bat system, hit the locator and was promptly astonished find that he was halfway between Jump City and Gotham. The reason her comm found it difficult to connect was because she hadn't set it to find the signal of an in-air-transit communicator.

She wondered momentarily if he was planning to surprise her, because he wasn't due to return to Gotham in another two days, but the more she thought about it, the more she grew suspicious. Robin didn't do surprises, unless it was to ambush an enemy. He wasn't the type at all to show up for no particular reason.

She wasn't at all suspicious by nature, but she supposed women's intuition was universal, Earthling or otherwise. Something nagged at her and in response, she promptly contacted Cyborg.

"Where's Robin?" she asked. There was no need to be roundabout with him. After all, she hardly ever did things deceitfully.

Evidently, Cyborg hadn't been prepared for her or her straightforward approach. He began to stutter. "W-Well—I—he…"

"I wish to speak to Raven."

Cyborg lost no time in passing the discussion over.

Raven was more composed. "Robin's not here."

"Where is he?"

"Somewhere else."

Starfire had to remind herself that whatever Raven was telling her was a result of Robin's orders, whatever they were. She also knew, of course, that Raven would be a formidable opponent on the matter. "He is half-way to Gotham; this I know. Why is he coming here and why has no one told me?"

Raven arched an eyebrow. "We assumed Robin would."

That, of course, only served to irk Starfire even more. She wasn't through. "May I speak to Beast Boy?" she asked sweetly.

Raven didn't even reply. She grabbed Beast Boy with her powers and dumped him right in front of the communication panel.

Beast Boy transformed into a mouse and tried to skitter to safety, but Raven held him in place, forcing him to stay put.

It was evident enough that none of the Titans desired to lie; not even for Robin, so Starfire understood why all of them were so reluctant to talk to her. She had no intention to yell at any of them, especially Beast Boy who was such a sweet guy, if not quite mature.

"Beast Boy," said Starfire. "Why is Robin coming to Gotham ahead of schedule?"

"He—um—" He whimpered like a dog. "Er… _SURPRISE!"_

Starfire sighed. She realized then that she would have to deal with Robin herself.

And now there she was, hiding in the shadows of the Bat cave and watching Robin take off into the secret tunnel leading to the city. She only assumed he was going to Bludhaven, of course. It was the only place he didn't like her being in, after all.

As the darkness of the tunnel swallowed him, she kicked off from the ground and followed. If he wanted a surprise, she would give him a surprise.

She could have followed him in stealth, but it wasn't her nature to sneak around. She flew up beside him and as expected, he saw her in a second. He turned his motorcycle, skidded to a stop and lifted his visor.

"You can't come with me," he said.

Her only response was the arch of her eyebrow. She couldn't believe they were having the same discussion as before.

"It's not because I'm protecting you."

That was most definitely a surprise to _her. _"Why did you not tell me about this?"

"Because if I told you, you'd want to come, no matter what, and I _have _to do this alone. I have people I need to meet that might not be cooperative if there's one too many of us."

It wasn't the least bit pleasant for Starfire to realize that she was going to be a _hindrance, _but it was certainly a more reasonable explanation than protecting her. She frowned. "You could have spoken to me about this."

He arched an eyebrow. "Would you have stayed in the Wayne Manor if I asked you to?"

She gave it a thought but he knew the answer even before she did. He sighed.

"One thing's for certain between the two of us, Starfire," he said. "We _both_ want to protect each other. If our roles were reversed, I wouldn't stay in the Wayne Manor either."

She was only slightly appeased. "But I would have talked to you about this matter."

Robin shrugged. "That's beside the point. Anyway, I know that no force on Earth's going to get you to turn around and wait for me at the mansion. Am I right?"

"Indeed."

"So here's what we're going to do. When we get to Bludhaven, watch my back; fall back when I tell you to; I'll do all the talking. Are we fine with this?"

She was aware that he knew she suspected Bludhaven, and that there was no point in hiding the fact. "We are, but Robin, we could have worked it out this way in the first place."

"Whatever."

She frowned. "You're still protecting me."

"Reflex. So sue me." He flipped his visor down and started his motorcycle again.

She left it at that, for the meantime. She could put off an argument as well as the next person.

888888888888888

A hundred miles south of Gotham was Bludhaven, a city borne from the slaughter of whales and the profit its industry generated. Its dreadful beginnings could be easily associated with its unsavory existence.

With rivers polluted by factories, buildings ripe for condemnation and a government as rotten as the waters surrounding it, it was hard to imagine that anyone wanted to live in it at all, but just as rats thrived in sewers, the scum of Gotham, and perhaps the scum of many others, called Bludhaven home.

There were gang leaders and mob bosses; corrupt mayors and cops on the take; junkies one snort away from overdosing and prostitutes risking their lives to trade their bodies for money.

Starfire didn't like Bludhaven the first time she set foot in it; her opinion was only bound to go from bad to worse. However, she wasn't about to voice any complaints.

As she flew along beside Robin and his motorcycle, the dim lighting of the street lights reflecting from the surface of his visor, it occurred to her that it was places like Bludhaven that needed heroes the most, and perhaps she should be perceiving it from that angle, rather than wishing she were somewhere else.

Robin wove through the streets with deliberate precision, and while they haven't talked about it, Starfire knew he had a particular destination in mind.

Soon enough, Robin slowed his motorcycle and entered a dark alleyway. There, he parked his bike and whipped off his helmet.

Starfire turned gracefully into the air and awaited his instructions.

The streets in that part of Bludhaven were bare. It was past midnight, after all.

"Let's go," he said, walking out to the street. He led her across, stopping in front of an establishment that called itself _Hogan's Alley. _

Its neon-light sign suddenly blinked to a close and it was then that Robin went right up the door and knocked.

Starfire found it curious that Robin had afforded the bar that kind of courtesy. The last time she was in Bludhaven with Robin, he was jabbing an ex-pimp awake, breaking into apartments and barging into nightclubs. She wondered what was so special about this bar.

A man came to the glass door. He was big, burly and he wore a cap on his head. He had a mustache that curved to the corners of his lips and it made his frown of displeasure more distinct. He looked like he was about to yell at Robin for even bothering to knock, but perhaps recognizing who Robin was, he caught himself and arched an eyebrow in astonishment. The man's gaze traveled and he met eyes with Starfire. She smiled at him shyly. She figured that a man of Bludhaven who deserved Robin's good manners deserved her good nature.

After another second's thought, he began unlocking the door. He stood at the threshold, eyebrow arched. "Well?"

He was imposing in his green plaid shirt and grey pants. With the sleeves of his shirt folded halfway up his forearms, Starfire could see that in spite of the slight flab he had put on, he still had a formidable musculature beneath it.

Robin, however, was never one to get intimidated so easily. "Mr. Hank Hogan? I know this is an unlikely time to see you, but we need to speak to you. We need your advice. Would you help us?"

He seemed even more surprised. "My advice? About what?"

"About the Bludhaven PD."

His facial expression changed from surprise to that of understanding. His lips tightened to a line before he stepped back into the establishment. "Then it's best we talk in here."

"Thank you," said Robin. "We won't be long." He let Starfire walk through first before he followed.

Hank shut the door behind them and turned the locks.

Starfire surveyed the establishment. The look of the entire place was a slice of old-fashioned 50s Americana, oddly updated by the sleek cash register and credit-card machine at the corner of the bar. There was also a big and bulky 24-inch television hanging at the end of the room that would allow all of the customers in the small space a view of the screen. The chairs and tables were made of carved varnished wood, polished to a sheen where the scratches didn't mar the surface. The chairs were turned up on their seats, legs sticking up towards the ceiling to ready the floor for mopping. The clean water in the pail at the corner told Starfire that the mopping hadn't been done.

The ceiling was decorated with two antiquated fans.

Along the walls were pictures of actors of old and new, some in colored print, some in black and white. But amidst those famous faces were people Starfire didn't recognize. She realized that most of them were in police uniform, and that a lot of them were leaning against their police cars. Upon further inspection of the room, she could make out a gun, a badge, handcuffs and an old uniform hanging up inside a glass casing on the most non-descript wall.

Sliding the last bolt of the door in place, Hank walked past them and went behind the bar. "Have a seat. Can I get you anything non-alcoholic?"

Starfire exchanged looks with Robin. It struck her as odd that he sounded so…

_… conscientious. _

Perhaps understanding the look on her face, Hank shrugged. "Eh, plain to see you're not twenty-one. I was a cop; always followed the law. Old habits die hard."

"Not all cops follow the law like you do, Mr. Hogan," said Robin.

Starfire, who still wasn't sure what they were doing in _Hogan's Alley, _took careful note of what Robin said. Robin hardly ever engaged in small talk. Everything he said beyond his intimate circle of friends and family was deliberate and calculated. She waited patiently to see where Robin was headed.

He gave a half-shrug, his meaning not entirely discernable. "Comes from knowing the law a little too well, I'm afraid."

Starfire could hear him shoveling ice into a glass followed by the hiss and fizzle of carbonated liquid being dispensed. A moment later, he had three glasses of soda sitting on the bar, each with a slice of lemon hanging from the rim.

Hank gestured to the bar stools.

Starfire wasn't sure if Robin wanted to be sociable, but probably seeing the look of uncertainty in her eyes, Hank gave her an encouraging nod, followed by a kind grin. She took the offered barstool. There was no reason to be rude to the man.

Robin seemed to be of the same mind, taking the stool beside hers.

Hank leaned over the bar, tilting his gaze at Starfire. He gestured to Robin but spoke to her. "Him, I've seen a couple of times, though it's been a while back; you… I seen Batgirl before, but I've never seen you around these parts, missy."

She blinked in mild surprise. "I am not from around here."

Hank chuckled. "That's for sure. I seen you in the paper, though. You're Starfire. Am I right?"

"You are correct, Mr. Hogan."

"Call me Hank. You're a long way from Jump City, Starfire." He looked at Robin, nodding as he took a sip from his own glass. "So are you, Boy Wonder. This ain't your town anymore."

Robin's eyebrow arched. "Never was. This is Roland Desmond's town."

Hank sighed. "Ain't that the sad truth? What do you need from me, Boy Wonder?"

"Your guidance. I'm after a guy responsible for the kidnap and murder of some scientists back in Jump City. He disappeared for a while but one of my sources spotted him coming into the city yesterday and I've been tracking his activities since."

Starfire tried to attach pieces of information from her memory to what Robin was saying. She recalled the names significant to the case Robin was talking about. The suspect's name was Maxwell Victoria, college thesis partner of Joseph Greenwald and Jefferson Welles, both of whom are missing under suspicious circumstances. All three were scientists who possessed valuable knowledge regarding bio-nanotechnology that could be used to build very dangerous weapons. As of that moment, Maxwell Victoria was the only person who might be able to tell them who he was working for; a person Starfire had reason to suspect was her sister.

Robin's source would have to be Johan, the Gotham pimp turned Bludhaven informant who lived in the back-alleys of Bludhaven's St. Bernardine's church. She remembered Robin striking a deal with Johan before they fled Bludhaven before, pursued by the gang known as the Blue Monkeys. Johan had agreed to give Robin as much information as he could gather regarding Maxwell Victoria; feeding that same information through the powerful compact radio Robin had given him. If any of the information proved to be useful, Robin would reward him with money.

"Do you have enough on this guy to put him away?" asked Hank.

Robin shrugged. "I've turned over all my findings and data with the cops at Jump City before I flew on over here. My teammates in Jump City informed me that a warrant has been issued and that the JCPD are coordinating with the Bludhaven police right now. I'd gladly hand over Maxwell Victoria to the cops after _I'm _done asking him my questions, but I need for Maxwell Victoria to stay in jail. How's the detainment situation these days?"

Hank gave a non-committal shrug. "Not any better than before. Throw enough money in their faces and he ain't staying in jail for long. Any idea on who might dish bust-out money for him?"

"With the money he has these days, he could buy his own ass out of there, and the wardens will take his word for it, too. You know how it is around here… when you owe money to the mob; they know when you have the money to pay them, and then…"

"Word gets around. His credit gets a communal nod."

Robin made a gesture of agreement. "I just need for this guy to stay until someone comes to bail him out. That's all I need. I want _nobody_ taking bribes from him."

"No bribing, but if he gets out on bail, that's fine?"

"Yes. My source tells me he'll only be staying here three days; said he told his landlord that he'd have to be gone for a while longer after he settles some accounts here. I'm guessing his boss still needs him and I want that boss to come on over here and bail him out."

"Ah… bait."

Robin nodded. "If after a week, no one bails him out and assuming he couldn't bribe anyone, it gets easier for me. He'd be on his way for a transfer to Jump City, so keeping his ass in jail won't be much of a problem anymore."

"How do you know it'll be his boss that will bail him out? He could have a sister; a brother; a _lawyer."_

"With the charges this guy has to face, his bail could go to millions if he gets bail at all, and only one person would have the money to post it."

Hank rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "You need him to stay in jail… I don't know. I give cops their drinks and chips, but I don't have any clout with these guys. They hardly like me because I'm clean. They'll only trust the dirty guys."

"You don't have to talk to any of them. I'll do the talking. I just need a name and what he's like."

Hank nodded, comprehending. "What kind of guy do you need?"

"Someone like you."

Hank winced. "Ouch. Modesty aside, there ain't no one like me on the force since I left. You couldn't even trust the BHPD _janitor."_

"Work with me here. I need a guy who has the power to keep Victoria in jail even if the entire police posse is eager to let Victoria out on a bribe."

Hank gave it some serious thought before his eyebrows knotted. "There's a new guy… I've been hearing good things about him, but I don't know… I've met him, and I couldn't read a blessed thing from those cold eyes of his."

"What's his name and what have you heard about him?"

"His name is Dudley Soames; police inspector. I heard he came from London, but he's been around the States for quite some time. Word is he likes Bludhaven. That could mean one of two things: He's eager to clean up the streets or he's eager to fill his pockets. Anyway, I couldn't tell where his interests lie, as of yet. He's been putting away pretty important crooks, most of which were paying for the lifestyles of many BHPD cops. There have been two assassination attempts on Soames. Until now, nobody knows if it was the crooks or the cops who tried to do him in."

Robin tapped his fingers on the countertop ponderously. "Inconclusive. What's he playing at?"

"Well, he's playing good cop _now_."

"And what makes you think he's pretending?"

Again, Hank paused to think. "I don't know if he's pretending. He's very intelligent and he plays his cards too well. Call it a cop hunch: I don't trust him."

Robin nodded, accepting it. "Where could I find this guy?"

"The receptionist at the police station has his pager number and you could probably get them to page him and meet you somewhere. Heck, you're still Robin the Boy Wonder. More than half the force still crap their pants at the mere mention of you or Batman getting on their cases. And then again… " Hank took a pen from his ear that Starfire hadn't noticed was there and used it to scribble something on a napkin. When he was done, he handed the napkin over to Robin. "That's his address. Maybe he'd be easier to figure out if you ambush him at his apartment."

Robin read the address on the napkin, probably committing it to memory, before he folded it and put it in one of the compartments of his utility belt. "Thank you. I appreciate this. Good people are hard to find in Bludhaven. You're one of the few."

Hank took the compliment with casual disregard. He was going to say something when he hesitated then decided to continue. "I also heard that Soames responds better to… certain people."

Robin's eyebrow arched.

Hank's raised his own brow in response before his gaze swiveled to Starfire.

Starfire, however naïve she could be at times, immediately understood what Hank meant. Heat rose in her cheeks, but she kept her gaze steady. If she had to make deals with Dudley Soames, she would and she probably knew how to do it. She didn't survive slavery and a star system in anarchy by being meek and street-dumb, so she had to show Robin that she wasn't wilting at the mere thought of using her feminine whiles to get what they wanted from Dudley Soames.

From the sudden flush on Robin's face, it was evident he understood what it meant as well. Other than that, Robin showed no other emotion. "So he likes beautiful women; who doesn't?"

Hank chuckled. "Soames is especially receptive to them. Let Starfire give him what _you _would give him; same terms, no need for Starfire to compromise her virtue, but somehow, Soames is easier to manage when a _woman_ asks him to do it. I still don't know what drives the guy, but at least with a woman holding the deck, he just might be more predictable than usual."

Starfire kept her opinion to herself for the meantime. There would be time enough to discuss it with Robin.

At the moment, his face was impassive, showing no hint of what he thought about it all. "Worth considering," was all he said. "You've been a tremendous help, Hank. If there's anything you need…" He gave Hank a radio similar to the one he gave Johan. "Call me on that. I may not be the one to respond, physically, but you'll certainly get the help you need."

Hank nodded, tucking the radio securely in his pocket. He let them out through the back, the darkness of the alley shrouding them in a second, and almost immediately, Robin and Starfire shrank into the shadows, heading to the next phase of their Bludhaven trip.

88888888888888888

Dudley Soames' apartment was in an old brownstone building relatively better looking than the buildings surrounding it.

Starfire stared across the street to the other apartment building from the roof of a condemned structure. A few of the windows in the complex were still lit. The only evidence of occupancy in the other apartments was the potted plants and the clothes hung out to dry.

Starfire already knew which window was Soames' and she gazed at the darkness beyond it. The window was ajar, a bit of curtain rustling in and out through the crack. It could mean he was home; it could also mean he was careless about locking his window when he left his apartment.

She looked at Robin beside her. He had one foot on the ledge, one arm propped on it. He leaned forward, his gaze on Soames' window; his ponderous posture betraying nothing about his thoughts.

Starfire cleared her throat. "I could speak to him."

Robin tilted his gaze at her for a moment before it went ponderously back to the building across. "So much for needing to do this by myself."

"He could not hurt me."

"I know he couldn't. Would you know how to handle this guy?"

She flashed a tiny smile, hoping he couldn't see the reddening of her cheeks. While she couldn't really call herself a smoldering temptress, she had her own way of getting men to do what she wanted. It was essential for her survival, living day to day in the harsh environment of space. "Oh, I believe I could."

His gaze turned to her again, searching. "You done this sort of thing before?"

"When it was necessary."

Robin's impassive expression became just a wee bit tense. It was evident he wanted to say something, but there was a cloud of uncertainty hovering above him.

There was little use in trying to find out what bothered him. If she was going to talk to Dudley Soames, she had to know a few things. "Tell me how this mission came about, Robin."

He nodded. "Johan called me; told me Maxwell Victoria came in this morning. Well—_yesterday _morning. Based on Johan's report, Victoria's not sticking around Bludhaven for long and it's possible that Victoria's not quite done with his work yet. If he's not back at work on time, Blackfire just might send someone over to pick him up, if she doesn't do it herself. What's important is that we keep Victoria detained until his boss comes to pick him up, and from there, we might be able to get a fix on where all this work is being done. I went to Hank because he was notorious in Bludhaven back in the day when he was still in the police force; because he was honest." Robin couldn't help smirk at that. "An honest cop in Bludhaven… takes a strong man to stay honest in a place like that. He left the force because he couldn't stand the corruption, and then he put up _Hogan's Alley. _Makes sense that it became a cop bar. He might not have any more clout in the force, but his bar gives him access to inside information, one way or another. The rest of it… you heard us talking about in the bar."

Starfire processed the information and began to get a clearer picture of it. "What will you be giving Soames in exchange for keeping Victoria detained?"

He chuckled softly. "See, that's the tricky part. I was going to play _that _by ear; now _you _have to do it, and the things he might ask of you… would be different from what he would have asked of me."

There was no need for Robin to elaborate on what those things were.

"Look," he began in a steady tone, his gaze averted from her. "I understand how tactically, it's better if you do this. Go as far as you're willing to go to seal this deal, but—" he paused, searching for the right word. His cheek twitched slightly. "If he asks unmentionable things of you, just walk away, alright? Just—"

Starfire put a hand on his shoulder. He didn't need to say it. "You must trust me."

After a moment's pause, he nodded. "I trust _you_. It's him I don't trust."

She smiled, and to make him feel at ease, she winked. "I am a big girl now, Robin. You needn't worry." She jumped off the building ledge, gliding to the fire escape of the building across.

He smirked as he watched her fly off. He jumped off the ledge after her with fearless grace, shooting a birdarang in the air to swing him to the other side.

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Starfire pushed the window open and glided into Dudley Soames' apartment. It was dark and she took a moment to adjust her eyes.

When she began to make out shapes in the blackness, she pieced together the landscape of the room. She was in the living room. It was spacious enough to accommodate a couch, two sofa chairs and a good size coffee table. He had a large plasma television against the wall where the couch was facing and even in the darkness, she could tell it was the best model out on the market.

She wondered momentarily how a policeman could afford such an expensive piece of machinery on his salary but shook off those thoughts, focusing on the matter at hand. To one side of the room was a table that looked like an office space of sorts. There was a desktop computer, papers, folders, books on a shelf suspended atop and a scatter of various pens.

To the other side of the room was a counter wall separating the kitchen-dining area. There were four doors; one looked like a small closet, another looked like the apartment entrance. She would have to find out which of the two remaining doors lead to his room.

There was no real need for stealth. After all, she was there to see him, but she didn't want to surprise him too much. She didn't like the idea that he responded to surprises by shooting them on the back.

The radio in her pocket beeped softly. It was Robin's signal that he was listening, and that just in case she encountered trouble, he would be there to make sure nothing happened to her. It was reassuring.

She came upon the first door and turned the knob as softly as she could. Cautiously, she opened the door a crack. It was darker inside.

Carefully, she stepped in and saw the unmade bed. Whoever had been sleeping in it was up and about, and judging by the imprint of a body on the mattress, the person hadn't left it for long.

There was a click behind her, like a gun being cocked. "Freeze," came the unfamiliar drone of a stranger's voice.

With her quick reflexes, she zipped out of the path of the gun and turned to catch Dudley Soames by the arm.

She twisted it behind him and his gun fell out of his grasp without even going off.

Starfire pushed Soames face down on the carpeted floor as he cried out in pain.

"Dudley Soames?" she asked in a cheery voice.

He swore profusely, his British accent coming through the mostly American lilt. "Who the fucken hell are you? What do you want from me?"

She grinned, sitting on him comfortably. "My name is Starfire and I have come here to speak with you. I do not wish to hurt you—"

"Well, it's bloody too late for _that!" _he yelled.

"I am sorry, but you had a gun to my back. I shall let go of you shortly… here, I will loosen my grip." She did and she supposed she wasn't hurting him anymore. He was merely incapacitated, but he was smart enough to understand that she was much stronger than him, and faster. If he tried to break free of her, she could very painfully show him how much of a mistake that was. He lay on his chest, passive.

She leaned over so that he could see some of her through the darkness. She smiled. "We shall talk nicely, yes? I have heard good things about you, Mr. Soames, that I find most interesting." It was the truth, however twisted it was.

He was still catching his breath when he spoke back. "Aren't you little too young to be chasing down guys my age, luv?"

She let him have his pet name without complaint because she had resolved to play the game and she wasn't about to turn away from the heat. She giggled, leaning a bit closer to him to whisper playfully. "Barely legal."

"So says the actress to the bishop."

She recognized his British slang but didn't understand it. Slang and idioms always stumped her, genetically built as she was to absorb languages. Nevertheless, it seemed he was relaxed now and she supposed she had him interested enough in _her_ to get him to listen amicably.

"Are you willing to play nicely now, Mr. Soames? I will let you go. I will even let you have your gun, but it would please me immensely if you do not point it at me. Is that alright?"

He grunted as he fidgeted to make himself more comfortable, but his reply was the epitome of poise. "And hurt a pretty little thing like you? I wouldn't think of it."

She had to admit that she found that somewhat amusing. "Excellent!" She drifted off him, releasing her hold.

He pushed himself off the floor immediately, straightening himself in his undershirt and boxer shorts.

She saw a switch on the wall and she flipped it, hoping it was the lights. It was, and the room was suddenly bathed in brightness.

Starfire took a moment to look at Dudley Soames. He was lean and tall. He had straight, hardened features with a stubborn, uncompromising jaw. His light blonde hair was short, cropped to his head, following a nicely shaped hairline.

"You'll pardon me for being in my _alans_. I wasn't expecting company." He looked her over briefly and he seemed to like what he was seeing. "I know you. You're that superhero lass from Jump City. What are you doing in Bludhaven, luv?"

Starfire clasped her hands behind her back like a little girl hiding stolen candy, shrugging as she walked around and pretending the room interested her. A glint in Soames' eye gave her the distinct feeling that Soames rather liked his women _young _and somewhat childish. It wasn't a hard thing to play, considering she was, by nature, playful and cheery. "I've some things to do here… besides, it is places like these that need heroes the most, don't you think?"

Dudley Soames chuckled, letting his gun lie on the floor. He went to his bedside table and took the pack of cigarettes on it. He shook out a stick and put it to his mouth. He tossed the pack on the bed and reached for his lighter. He lit his cigarette and began to smoke it. "We have enough coppers in Bludhaven."

The smoke wafted to her nostrils and she wriggled her nose. It was irritating, but she wasn't about to be deterred by the papery, tobacco smell. Anyway, he seemed to like how shewasn't pleased aboutthe smoke. It made him smirk. She blew a breath from the corner of her mouth to flick some hair off her eyes and dispense the smoke that was coming towards her. "Cops and heroes do not exactly mean the same thing around here," she said, a sweet ring to her tone.

He blew out some more smoke, laughing. "You're a sly skirt, aren't you? Well, I like sly, and I like skirts."

She grinned. "I am glad to hear that, Mr. Soames, but I am probably not as sly or skirty as you'd like. I am Tamaranian and I am still getting used to the customs of Earth. You will forgive me if I seem inept at _this_. Certainly, I always mean well." It wouldn't be the first time Starfire played her other-worlder card, and she found that as much of a disadvantage it was at times, it also helped her earn the complacence of potential adversaries.

"I wouldn't think for the _world _that you mean offense, Starfire."

"Thank you. You are very kind."

"I try," he said, approaching her and picking his gun off the floor along the way. "Now… what is it that you want from Mr. Soames?"

She was not afraid of his gun. She could blast his hand off if she had to. It didn't bother her either that he was closing the distance between them. She knew she wouldn't let him touch her and if she hurt him for being fresh with her, he'd only have himself to blame. She looked him straight in the eyes, grinning. "A warrant has been issued for a man in your district; one Maxwell Victoria."

If he recognized the name, he made no indication. He smirked. "As much as I hate to lay out my cards, I have to tell you that anyone from the cop-shop could facilitate the arrest for this bloke; doesn't have to be me, you see."

Starfire blinked up at him in her best look of innocence. "Oh, but his arrest will not be a problem. I could get him myself and deliver him to the police station. In fact, this is what I intend to do, and he will be in the station in an hour or so, but what I need, Mr. Soames, is for him to stay in the BHPD detainment facility until he is transported to Jump City for trial."

"If he committed the crime, luv, he'll _stay _in jail."

"Mr. Soames…" she said in a gently chiding tone. "BHPD wardens aren't known for their integrity. Left to their own devices, it is not difficult for a prisoner to persuade them to look away while he makes his escape."

Amusement was evident on Dudley Soames' face. "And you think me different from these wardens?"

"You are at least smarter than they are."

"Oh? You think so? And how does that benefit me in this situation?"

Starfire pretended to be shocked. "Surely keeping a suspected murderer off the streets is reward enough for an upstanding policeman like you!"

Dudley Soames threw back his head and laughed. "Luv, if you really believed I was upstanding, you wouldn't be playing games with me."

She wasn't the least bit fazed, but she was in her element and she responded without flinching. "I suppose I do not completely trust you, but am I to be blamed for that? Remember, I am just a silly Tamaranian girl."

Dudley Soames was most definitely endeared by her "helplessness" and he came even closer, smiling like a predator. "Why don't you watch the prisoner yourself, then? You and your _friends _stick your arses into police business enough times. Besides, I think I'd _like _for you to be in the station."

Starfire tapped her chin thoughtfully, sweeping herself away from him with casual disregard. She saw that he didn't like her retreat, but she pretended not to notice it. "If I guarded the prisoner myself, it could deter certain people from showing themselves. I do not wish to scare _anyone _away."

He leaned against the wall where Starfire had previously been, eyebrow arched. "Ah, I see. You want to draw someone out. Very well, I'll accept that. But I don't baby-sit prisoners, you know."

"Indeed! My apologies if I implied such!" His cigarette had died out and as if eager to make up for any offense she may have dealt him, she reached for the lighter on the bed. Like an expert, she deftly flipped out a flame. She flashed a blindingly bright smile, as if she was pleased with herself and held the flame out for him to use.

He chuckled, relighting his cigarette on the flame. When his stub was properly lit, she clicked the lighter close and gracefully held the lighter out for him to take. He did, observing her with barely veiled delight.

"I could watch your prisoner for you if you do something for me," he said.

She smiled sweetly; saying nothing as she tilted her head to the side; waiting.

He chuckled. "Would you do anything I asked you to?"

She bit her lower lip, exaggerating a ponderous expression with her eyes, then she nodded. "If it was legal enough, I would."

"Legal, eh?"

"I am a superhero after all, Mr. Soames. If I did too many unsavory things to fight crime, then I should have just applied for a position in the BHPD…"

"Oh my, rather cheeky, aren't you, Starfire?"

She wasn't going to be deterred. "… _but_ chose your favor well, Mr. Soames. It is not every day you have as much power over a woman who could do the things I do. Do not waste your opportunity on pursuits of _temporary gratuity."_

A broad grin spread across Dudley Soames' face. "Our view of what's a waste and what isn't is laughably reversed, luv. You obviously devalue yourself." He began to reach for her.

"Actually, I look at it as valuing myself to the utmost. On the same thread, do keep your hands to yourself, Mr. Soames. Have you no shame? I am young enough to be your daughter."

He blinked in surprise then he burst out in laughter. "Touché. Very well then, I have a particular project in mind, but I don't know if you could help me with it."

"Tell me what it is. Maybe I could help."

"Roland Desmond… you've heard of him?"

"A bit. A very promising crime boss, it seems. Many fear him already."

Dudley Soames nodded. "I need for him to trust me. I need to get close to him so that I could… better infiltrate his organization, so to speak."

Starfire couldn't help but arch her eyebrow in suspicion. _How close _did he want to get to Roland Desmond is what she wanted to know. Unfortunately, that was irrelevant at the moment, not to mention un-called for. All she knew of Dudley Soames was that he was somewhat _smarmy, _and such an accusation wouldn't hold up in any court. "And how shall I help you with that?"

"I believe you've met Prancer."

Starfire smiled. "Yes, I have. He's not very nice."

He cocked a grin. "No, he's not. I need for you to haul him in for me. He's been skimming money off the debt payments he collects for Roland Desmond. If I could get him to tell me who else among Roland's underlings does this, I could bring this information to Roland—among other things—and use it to my advantage."

"Hmm… that sounds like kidnapping, Mr. Soames. That is not part of my job description."

"Luv, a mere technicality. I know he's skimming off… I just need you to scare him enough to rat on his pals."

Starfire's gave it a quick thought. She certainly didn't want to get any deeper into Soames' business than was necessary, and she was sure Robin wouldn't want her doing his dirty work, either. There was a better and easier way to go about it. "I could give you a firmer hold on him, Mr. Soames, one that doesn't require me to scare him every time you need him. Show him what I'm going to give you and he will be very cooperative, I assure you."

"Oh?"

She nodded eagerly, lifting herself off the ground and flitting about the room like a curious pixie. "Uh-hmm! Besides, I have _so many _things to do right now."

Dudley Soames smirked. "When could I have this trading card?"

"It will be in your mailbox tomorrow, with instructions of its use, of course. Could you wait that long?"

"Certainly. Anything for you, my sweet."

"I _knew _you were a reasonable man, Mr. Soames! Maybe we will see each other again if you prove to be more… trustworthy." With that parting shot, she made for the door. He did not stop her, but as she began to swing for the window, Dudley Soames called out to her.

She looked over her shoulder at him.

"What? No kiss goodbye? I would be the laughing stock of the police force if any of them found out I had Starfire in my _bedroom_ and I didn't even get to kiss her."

She was about to make a witty reply when her communicator began to beep incessantly.

_Well, there you go: Robin _hates _that idea. _She smiled. "I am sorry, Mr. Soames, but if you wish to kiss me, you must take a number and get in line."

Starfire flew out of the window.

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Robin made it clear enough after Starfire got back from Dudley Soames' apartment. _"I'll _be handling Victoria." And that was the end of that.

He didn't sound angry. Certainly, he had nothing to be angry about, but she could tell that he was decidedly upset that he made her have to deal with such a slimy character like Dudley Soames.

She would have to remind Robin later to have Cyborg send a copy of Victoria's Bank Statement in the mail, explaining to Soames how Victoria's withdrawals corresponded to his due dates as far as his mob-debts were concerned. The Bank Statements would show that Victoria paid his debts in full, and since it was evident from their last meeting with Prancer that he had skimmed off _that _transaction, he would be just as powerless to deny Soames information as he was powerless when Robin and Starfire used it on him. Prancer, just like everyone else in Bludhaven, wasn't too thrilled about the prospect of getting on the bad side of Roland Desmond.

Robin first made a quick stop behind St. Bernardine's Church where Johan met them obsequiously.

Starfire, after having to deal with the oiliness that was Dudley Soames, suddenly didn't think Johan so bad. She felt a bit guilty for having subdued him with her cane, before. Certainly this man, however questionable his character was, seemed a lot more harmless.

Robin handed a wad of cash to Johan who was too immediately pleased by the thickness of it to lend legitimacy to any complaints he may have planned. He called Robin and Starfire all kinds of savory names and it became sickening really fast.

Johan was still heaping his praises of them when Robin urged Starfire to go, leaving Johan without a proper goodbye.

It did not take long for them to arrive at Maxwell Victoria's apartment building. The _Seaside Apartments' _sad view of the harbor was only made sadder by the dreary locale. During the day, the place looked grubby; in the dark of night, it was almost as dreary as a ghost town.

Starfire peered from the shadows at the dimly lit building lobby. She wondered momentarily if Andy, the boy they had met a few months back, manned the reception desk at that hour. He probably did not.

Robin crouched beside her, pointed upward. She didn't know which window was Victoria's, but it hardly mattered. Robin would be going through the window first. She would be right behind him, but only as back up. As Robin had so definitively claimed, this was for him to deal with.

"Do you think he is there?" she said softly. She wasn't sure why she was whispering. It was just that the streets were so hollow, and perhaps she felt that if she spoke any louder, her voice would be echoing in the emptiness.

Robin nodded. "Likely."

It would have to do.

She felt a tug on her hand and she looked at him.

"You did good with Dudley Soames."

"Thank you."

"He was a smarmy son-of-a… you-know-what. I wanted to sock him in the face, among other things."

She grinned. "I could have, but that would have compromised the negotiations."

He shrugged and smiled. "What's this about taking a number and getting in line?"

Starfire giggled. "Do not worry; I think I like my number one."

"That's comforting," he said, allowing a moment of tenderness when he brushed his knuckles on her cheek.

She blushed, because he could do that to her, and he took off first to make his appearance in Victoria's apartment.

She watched him swing himself up by his ropes and birdarangs, marveling at the grace and strength in his limbs.

She had it so easy compared to Robin. They _all _had it so easy; because he wasn't meta-human, but even by meta-human standards, he was extraordinary.

He alighted on a ledge.

Unlike Soames' apartment, the fire escape was at the side of the building, and Robin wanted to go through the window, not knock on Victoria's door.

Moments later, Robin cut a slot through the glass window, poked his hand through and undid the latch. He swung the windows wide and slipped through the opening.

Starfire kicked off the ground, and by the time she arrived at the window, Robin had a dim lamp open and Maxwell Victoria quailing, unrestrained, on an ergonomic chair.

The expression on Maxwell's face was one of fear and awe, staring up at Robin with his dark brown eyes. He had short and curly brown hair and he had a shadow of a beard along his jaw. His features were sharp and pointed, made sharper by the frail form of his body. The blue-striped pajamas only made him seem longer.

Starfire stayed well beyond the light, staying as invisible as she could while observing. Something began to stir inside of her at the sight of Maxwell Victoria. It probably had a bit to do with hate, that he could live his life while he had been the cause of so many others' death, but ashamed as she was to admit it, it had a lot more to do with her sister. This man knew her sister; spoke to her; followed her orders. He was so unspeakably repulsive and her sister so unspeakably traitorous. She didn't know how she managed to watch so calmly, betraying none of her feelings. She closed her eyes for a moment, lest her passion caused them to glow. When she was calm enough, she felt it safe enough to open them and watch.

Robin crossed his arms over his chest, grinning. "Hello, Maxwell. Know who I am?"

Maxwell nodded.

"Do you know why I'm here?"

He shook his head.

Robin arched an eyebrow. "You don't?"

Maxwell blinked, and he looked about ready to cry. "I swear… I didn't want to kill all those people…"

"Well," said Robin with a deadly kind of calm. "You couldn't apologize to them now, could you? Their families probably won't be very forgiving, either. You'll just have to go to jail."

Maxwell's jaw dropped. "J-Jail?"

"Where did you think it would get you, Maxwell? You should have known you were going to get caught."

Maxwell swallowed nervously, the vague shadow of his window curtains dancing on his face.

"I just bet your boss told you that you _wouldn't_ get caught. I'm surprised you believed her, smart guy that you are, but I suppose she always had killer charisma."

Starfire wondered about what Robin said, describing Blackfire. Indeed, her elder sister was captivating. She had a mesmerizing quality to her bearing and for a long time, Starfire believed it would make her a wonderful leader. For a long time after the debacle with the Okaaran tests, Starfire couldn't understand how she passed what her sister had failed. It was only lately she began to gain some kind of comprehension. They had suffered the same situation in slavery, but their decisions showed how much they differed.

She didn't know if it made her better than Blackfire, but the difference was marked, and apparently, the tests of Okaara thought that difference significant enough.

"L-Look, I was just desperate for some money, and she was asking me to do work I was willing to do before, anyway, so—"

"So you killed a few people."

"I told you! There wasn't supposed to happen!"

"Then why did you keep helping her, Maxwell? You should have backed out the moment she brought in Cinderblock. You remember Cinderblock, don't you? How did you control him? Was it one of your nano-bots that did it?"

Maxwell was sweating bullets and Starfire didn't exactly understand what he was afraid of. It wasn't as if Robin was holding a weapon to him.

And then vaguely, staring at the dark silhouette of Robin's caped form, his spiked hair blown one way and another by the gentle breeze into a form reminiscent of _another _masked hero, she remembered a _legend_. It was about a boy who felt such sadness and regret for the loss of his parents that he dedicated his entire life to preventing other people from suffering the same fate. The boy became a man, learned, brave, wise and strong. He used his strength to become a hero among those who needed it; he had dark powers, because he struck fear in the hearts of his prey even before they saw him. He became a man who could see into the black souls of those who sowed evil and injustice. He watched over Gotham's streets from the carved gargoyles and parapets; he melted into shadow and rose out of it when they least expected him. He was almost supernatural; he was legend; he was Batman, and here stood Batman's pupil; his protégé; his _son. _

Starfire recalled vaguely how she had called Batman and Robin _knights, _because they were; noble soldiers whose valor could be depended on, especially when others couldn't fight for themselves. They threw themselves into battles that would not have been theirs to fight, without thought of reward, because it would have been a far greater crime to do nothing, where they could do something.

It was there, while watching Robin from the dark, that Starfire understood how Robin could compel such fear by his mere presence and how Robin would, forever, be using his power for the greater good. Robin would forever be a hero.

"Sh-She's too powerful," said Maxwell. "She flies. She shoots bolts…"

"But you still took her money."

"I needed it!"

Robin shook his head, grabbing Maxwell by the scruff of his neck and lifting him off the chair. Maxwell trembled as Robin held him up at eye-level. "Do you know what those things you're building could do? Do you know how dangerous they are?"

At this point, Starfire knew Robin was only guessing about what sort of things Blackfire was compelling Maxwell and his thesis partners to make, but it was a worthy bluff. Maxwell would call it.

Maxwell struggled to get free of Robin's hold. "The machines won't be used on us; she swore by it. She swore!"

"I'm not even going to go into how much of a lie that could be, but let's assume she won't be using it for Earth. Did she tell you what she was going to use it for?"

"No! I swear she didn't. I swear it!"

"And where do you do this work of yours?"

"It's in a contained lab. I _don't know _where it is. I have no way to find out where it is. All I know is that it's in outer space. She contacts me and tells me where to meet her. I get fetched by a pod that comes from underwater then it rides me out to the open sea. I don't know where and when it takes off because I'm _always _out cold when that happens."

_Stasis, _thought Starfire grimly.

"When I get to the mother-ship, no one says anything… I ask questions but no one answers; and like I said, there's no way of knowing where I am without someone telling me. I know nothing about space travel."

"How many people are involved in this operation?"

"Many people, from different planets…"

"Are your buddies alive? Are they being held against their will?"

Maxwell nodded. "I promise; they're alive. They're prisoners, but they're alive. They're being treated well, too. They're—"

"You might want to tell the police that when they question you. Right now, you're wanted for their murders, too. Not that you won't have to answer for the other deaths you caused—"

"Please don't turn me in. Please don't—"

"That's non-negotiable. You're going to jail, pal. I don't know if they'll set bail for you; we'll know in a couple of days, but unless someone comes to bail you out, your ass is staying in jail—depend upon it."

Maxwell began to struggle more insistently. "You can't put me in jail. You just can't!"

"Work isn't done yet? How much else is your boss paying you?"

"Dammit, no!"

Robin sighed, shaking his head and twisting Maxwell's arms to his back. Maxwell cried out in pain, incapable of getting free. When Robin had Maxwell face down on the desk, cuffs clamped firmly around his wrists, things suddenly took a very strange turn.

"You don't know what it's like."

Robin's eyebrow arched.

Starfire was just plain astonished. The words had been said by Maxwell, but the tone was totally gone of its earlier fear. The fear earlier had certainly seemed real; he hadn't been faking it, but this sounded like the enraged growl of an animal backed into a corner.

He wasn't whimpering; he wasn't trembling. His voice had taken on a low, savage timbre.

When Robin hauled him up, Starfire saw Maxwell eyes, and in it, she saw such loathing.

"You don't know what it's like to have someone ruin your entire life; a life you thought would be perfect in every way," said Maxwell, his tone menacing and resentful. "You don't know the indignities I suffered. You self-righteous son of a bitch!"

Robin's face tightened, any trace of compassion gone. He turned Maxwell to face him, holding him by the collar of his shirt. "Who are the machines for, Maxwell? Stop lying to me."

"Fuck you, Boy Wonder."

Robin shook his head. "You're really not my type." He shoved Maxwell backwards and Maxwell fell on his desk, crashing against his monitor and several stacks of disks. He complained loudly in pain and anger, but before he could scramble for purchase, Robin had both his booted feet up on the desk and he was gripping Maxwell's shirt once more. Robin crouched over him, lifting him from the table by his collar. "Whatever happened to you, Maxwell, you still had a _choice _and you chose _very _badly.I know people who suffered worse than you've ever known, Maxwell, and they've dedicated their lives to keeping good people from crooks much worse than you. You're going to meet one of those heroes in a second, and don't you _dare _compare yourself to _her. _You're not worth the dirt under her shoe. Do you hear me, Maxwell?"

With a mighty heave, Robin threw Maxwell full-bodied through the window.

Maxwell screamed and as deserving as Maxwell was of plunging to his death, Starfire's knew, for sure, that Robin was depending on her to be there to catch Maxwell Victoria. It was Robin's very words to Maxwell before throwing him out of the window that told her just what Robin expected of her.

A few seconds from certain death, she had Maxwell in her arms, carrying him like a sack on her shoulder. She made a landing, shoving Maxwell off her none too gently. Filled with panic, he managed to turn over and struggled to his feet without the use of his hands.

He stared at her, her piercing gaze meeting his.

"Oh God…" whispered Maxwell. "You're like her, aren't you? You're like Blackfire. You're Tamaranian!"

Starfire heard the roar of a motorcycle engine and she knew they would be off in seconds.

She glared at Maxwell one last time. "I _am _Tamaranian, but I am _nothing _like her. Do you understand that? I am _nothing like her._"

She rose into the air, gripping him by the thick material of his clothing. He gagged a bit, severely uncomfortable, but she didn't care.

Starfire zipped through the air, cargo in hand, making for the Bludhaven police station with Robin following close behind.

To be continued…

* * *

Author's notes: You do not understand how close I came to naming this chapter "Dark and Stormy Knight". As a joke, you understand, but then that would have utterly ruined the tone of the chapter, which is very serious. It was so tempting, though! Thinking of the title, I came up with names like "Knight in Gale" and "Fly By Knight." I was having such a ball! LMAO! But then I told myself to get serious, so I did. I started getting serious with "Knight Out" but that sounded like Robin or Batman coming out of the closet, or if not that, either of them going bar hopping to pick up some chicks. "Knight Vision" came to me, all of a sudden, and it was so perfect that I didn't even think twice. 

Thanks in my bios!

For the British Slang:

_"So says the actress to the bishop" – _It's a jocular catch phrase that draws attention to an otherwise innocent statement by imbuing sexual innuendo, usually said, "As the actress said to the bishop…"

_Alans _is short for _Alan Whickers. _It's a noun and it's London cockney rhyming slang for _underwear; _because Alan Whickers rhymes with _knickers._

_Skirt _means _woman, _but it's not a respectful term.

_Cop-shop _means the police station.


	6. Art of War

Author's note: Hopefully, we could all take a bit of a breather in this next chapter. It will still have drama towards the end (of course), but a lot of this chapter will be much lighter than the rest of the story, so far.

Standard disclaimers apply.

**PATH TO TAMARAN**

**Chapter Six – Art of War**

Starfire looked at the painting for another minute, hoping she could make some sense out of the lines of color and the image it abstractly portrayed.

The painting was set on a plain white wall, the lighting in the gallery perfect for showcasing all the artifacts the gallery was hoping to sell, but however wonderful the shapes and colors of the gallery's wares were, the place was a work of art in itself.

The Wayne Contemporary Art Gallery was a wonder of architecture. The entire façade was made of thick clear glass, decorated with geometric dots and lines in chrome, like alien scripture. They accented what would have been an otherwise plain sheet of glass, but the design was in no way overwhelming to what was inside. The walls and partitions within the gallery, combined with the bleach-picket flooring, looked like a geometric illusion from outside, but by stepping into the maze, there was an amazing clarity to how everything was in place. Even the receptionist's desk, set just outside the Gallery Director's office, looked unobtrusive. It belonged where it was, and it was as if the gallery wouldn't exist without it.

There were low, bronze designer benches set along the walls of the showroom floors, far enough from the displays not to hinder close observers, but clear enough from the middle to accommodate large sculptures. The space was still big enough to let people walk unhampered, and the spacious feel was still very much present.

On the Gallery's grand opening, the floor was filled with people. Champagne and hors d'ovres were constantly being served by dignified waiters. Most of the guests were grouped as they talked in pleasant tones, some walked around in a leisurely pace as they looked at the art, but there were others like Starfire who had taken a particular fancy to a painting.

Starfire looked to the bottom of the canvas and saw the painting's title: "Burst in Beethoven's Notturno for Viola and Piano in D Major". She was still trying to decipher what it meant, even if the painting looked nice enough by itself. She also wondered if at three hundred fifty thousand dollars, someone would readily buy it. She may not be an Earthling, but she knew what was expensive and what wasn't. There was nothing cheap about this painting.

"What do you think, dearie?" asked Dr. Leeman. "Does it do Beethoven's _Notturno__ for Viola and Piano in D Major_ justice?"

She leaned her temple against Dr. Leeman's shoulder, perhaps hoping she could get some of the brilliance she assumed a doctor of Wayne Enterprises' laboratory had. "I have not yet heard Beethoven's _Notturno__ for Viola and Piano in D Major_, but I am quite sure the painting does it justice. It must, for three hundred fifty thousand dollars."

Dr. Leeman laughed. "Well, if I had tree hundred fifty thousand dollars to spare, I would buy this."

"It is a good painting, yes?"

"Very good. It has, in fact, already been bought." Dr. Leeman pointed to a tiny red bow tacked to the description card at the bottom.

Starfire had noticed the red bow on most of the description cards of the various paintings in the gallery and she marveled at just how much money there was walking in the room. "Uncanny! And these paintings are quite expensive!"

"Speaking of expensive," said Dr. Leeman, nodding towards the side of them. "There's Bruce Wayne with your date, looking at an Inna Guevarra painting. _Her _work sells for a cool one point five mil."

Starfire's eyes widened in awe.

"Come along now. More art to see. We will see Inna Guevarra's painting later." Dr. Leeman pulled her along with him as Starfire craned her neck, trying to catch a glimpse of the high-priced work of art.

Robin's gaze caught hers and he smiled fondly. She smiled back and gave him a small wave, just to show that she hadn't forgotten him.

He looked so handsome in his tux; so composed, as if he hadn't a care in the world. It was strange that only two nights before, he was so immersed in the dark workings of criminals and Bludhaven.

After they deposited Maxwell Victoria in the police station, Robin had the receptionist page Inspector Dudley Soames. Minutes later, a telephone call was given over to Starfire, and sure enough, when she answered it, it was the inspector, sounding every bit as greasy on the telephone as he was in person:

_"You work fast. I fancy that in a skirt," he said._

_"I'd expect you to be as diligent, Mr. Soames."_

_"Well, don't get your pretty little knickers in a twist. You needn't worry about your prisoner going anywhere. In fact, I will be there in ten minutes or so to take care of it. I'd tell you to stay your arse there so we could meet again, but I've been told you brought your boyfriend with you. You naughty little thing… why didn't you tell me he was in Bludhaven?"_

_"Did you prefer to have _him_ in your bedroom?"_

_He chuckled. "Oh, _behave,_ luv."_

_Starfire__ grimaced. She didn't have to pretend to be coquettish over the phone. "Just make sure he stays behind bars, Mr. Soames."_

_"I swear it on m' mother's grave."_

_"I know not whether you value your mother or your mother's grave."_

_He laughed. "Alright then, I swear it on m' percy. And believe me, luv, I, like any man, value m' percy more than anything."_

_Starfire__ wasn't sure what a "percy" was, but if she understood it right, she certainly didn't want to talk about his percy with him or anyone else. "Ugh. Goodnight Mr. Soames."_

_"It was a good night indeed."_

Starfire still felt the hair on her back rising when she remembered him. After she told Robin that Soames was on his way to the police station, he hurried them out to the back of the building. She was surprised when waiting in the shadows was a uniformed police officer; short, a bit stout, almost nondescript.

Robin knew him:

_"Glad you're here, Harris," he said. _

_The man nodded, his eyes shifting suspiciously to Starfire._

_Starfire__ had to wonder just when Robin made arrangements with him but decided it was unimportant at the moment. _

_Robin took out a transmitter similar to the one he gave Johan, but this time, a thick wad of bills went with it. "I want to know everything that happens to this guy while he's in your detainment facility. I want to know who'll come around to see him; what they talk about; what he says when he's in his cell; whenever he takes a piss, tell me. Got that?"_

_Harris nodded, taking the transmitter and the money. After that, he cautiously slipped back into the police station through the back door. _

_"Can you trust him?" Starfire asked._

_Robin grinned. "Well, like I could trust Johan, I guess."_

_"Oh." _

_It meant, of course, that Harris was only as trustworthy as Robin's money. Ultimately, it was enough. _

_"Robin, why do we not just bug Maxwell Victoria? If we had placed a bug underneath the collar of his shirt, he will likely not notice it, and since he will be in jail, a change of clothing will not be forthcoming. We would at least be able to listen to him for a few days."_

_"We can't risk that much. A bug like that could be easy to find _and _he'll have proof. If he finds it, he'll blame the cops for it. That could lead to a dismissal of his case."_

_She nodded and decided to look it up. The system of law in the __United States__ was sometimes too complicated to take at face value. She had referred to many books of law in the Tower library just to understand, but it was no simple task. She was sure, at least, that Robin would discuss the finer points of it with her when she gained a basic comprehension on the subject of "bugging" and "dismissal of a case"._

Robin led them back to Gotham soon after, and when they arrived at the Bat Cave, they wasted no time in contacting the Titans.

It was Raven who had answered the call, eyeing them both impassively. If she had any questions regarding Starfire's presence in the meeting, she made no mention of them. All she said was, "Glad to see you both."

Robin gave them the bare facts of what had transpired in Bludhaven, after which he hooked the tower system up to communications with Harris, so that if, for some reason, Robin couldn't receive Harris' transmission, anyone in the tower would.

_"Cyborg, I need to know if you detected anything in the radars before we got news of __Victoria__'s appearance in Bludhaven," said Robin as he typed information into the Bat Computer. "It seems our friend has been traveling in space, and the fact that he suddenly showed up after a long disappearance…"_

_"… means he might have flown in on a ship," finished Cyborg. "I have to go back on it again, but if I missed anything, somebody else should have picked it up…"_

_Robin nodded. "But check on it again, anyway."_

_"If a ship's advanced enough, it could be cloaked in space," said Raven._

_"True," said Cyborg. "But space is a vacuum; once the ship enters the Earth's atmosphere, it disrupts the elements: rises in temperature, changes in the wind patterns, displacement of water, seismic activity. We might not be able to see it, but there are other ways to detect it, and our radars are prepped for that sort of thing. Whatever ship they're using to get __Victoria__, it has to come down to Earth."_

_Beast Boy's hand popped out from behind Cyborg's shoulder. "Ooh! Ooh!" _

_For a moment, it looked like Robin was going to ignore him._

_Starfire__ gave Robin a nudge. "I believe Beast Boy wishes to share something." She knew she had great powers of intercession when it came to their leader and she was not shy about using it, especially for Beast Boy whom she had a soft spot for._

_Robin gave a small sigh, but he never could say no to Starfire on such matters. "What is it, BB?"_

_Beast Boy eagerly popped his face up on the monitor and began to draw an image on the screen with a stylus. The neon orange glow of the digital ink was absolutely distracting. He drew a saucer-shaped UFO. Shooting from beneath it was a column of what might have been light, and Beast Boy labeled it "TB". At the very end of the "TB" was a stickman that looked like it wore spectacles and a lab-coat. "They could have powerful Tractor Beams! They could suck him up from Earth and straight into space where the mother ship could stay cloaked and undetectable!" _

_"A tractor beam is even more conspicuous than a space ship, Beast Boy," said Raven. "It'll be visible for miles around."_

_Beast Boy wasn't easily deterred. He began to draw swirls on the "TB" in several places. "Maybe they put some kind of hypnotic pulse on the tractor beams! You know, like Mad Mod does, so that people don't know that they're seeing it! And—"_

_"Beast Boy, some of us don't get as easily hypnotized as you do. Besides, a tractor beam emits great quantities of energy. It would have been detected by the radars anyway."_

_"Shoot! I thought I had something!"_

_Starfire__ smiled. "It would have been a good theory, Beast Boy."_

_Robin's eyes implored her not to encourage him. Starfire merely shrugged._

_Cyborg__ came up to the screen, wiping off the digital drawings. "Maybe __Victoria__ only thinks he's going to space. Could they have a base on Earth? Underground, maybe?"_

_Robin shook his head. "Negative. The Justice League makes routine checks for facilities that operate suspiciously; they don't make raids, but they keep an eye on such places. They would have found something out already, _especially_ if it's underground. When something's underground, you can be sure they're not making bottle caps."_

_"Maybe the Justice League just hasn't found the base."_

_"Impossible. To build and _use_ a facility underground would've generated enough seismic activity to call attention. You couldn't hide something like that; not even if they were based on some remote location in __Siberia__. Remember, the more unlikely the place, the more we keep an eye on it."_

_"Any chance __Victoria__'s lying?"_

_Robin nodded gravely. "Hell, yeah. We'll need Aqualad for a bit. Maybe he could confirm if there've been any underwater crafts zipping around the coast of __Bludhaven__."_

_Starfire__ tried not to react. She may love Robin to distraction, and she may think Robin the "handsomest boyfriend in the world" but eye candy was eye candy: Aqualad was too gorgeous for her or anyone to ignore. Before she and Robin became a couple, she had written at least three fan letters to Aqualad, and while Raven wouldn't admit it, Starfire knew for a fact that Raven had written one or two fan letters as well. _

_She knew Aqualad had received them, because he had written in response twice. There was nothing very special about the contents of his letters. It had sounded casual enough from teen hero to teen hero (who was secretly a fan), but at the time, Starfire had been thrilled out of her boots and of course, each letter earned two full pages on her scrap book. _

_"I'll contact him," Raven said immediately. _

_Starfire__ noted how Cyborg and Beast Boy exchanged wry looks. _

_It was evident enough when Raven had Aqualad on her T-Comm. Color actually showed through her pale cheeks and when they heard Aqualad say Raven's name, the TV remote control exploded to bits. _

_Beast Boy, fingers digging into his hair, screamed like a school girl. "Noooo!" _

_Raven, cheeks flaming, scampered to the computer panel. "I'll—er—hook him up to the system."_

_She did, and Aqualad's face on the monitor was most definitely a sight to see. _

_"What can I do for you?" asked Aqualad._

_Starfire__ swore she blushed to her roots. _

_Robin was yet too focused on his work to notice that anything was amiss. He asked Aqualad's help in obtaining information from the marine life along Bludhaven's coast. "Ask them if they've seen any unusual underwater crafts lately."_

_Aqualad__ nodded. "I could do that, but it's going to take some time to get that information. There hasn't been much marine life in Bludhaven since the whalers began hauling in chopped up whale parts on its shores. Add that to the pollution from the factories and—well, it ain't a popular ecosystem if you know what I mean. But don't worry; I'll find _something _if there's anything."_

_"Thanks, Aqualad. We could use all the help we could get."_

_"No problem." He was about to sign off when he paused and smiled. "Hi, Starfire. Did you get my last letter?"_

_Starfire__ prayed to X'Hal that she be struck from existence that very moment. On the one hand, she felt like a fan girl at being addressed by the mega teen-idol Aqualad, yet on another, more important hand, Robin had this _look.

_She nodded dumbly at Aqualad in response._

_"Great! Thought it got lost in the mail when you didn't write back, but then Raven replied so—"_

_Raven was so busted that she was in dire danger of passing out from mortification. _

_"Anyway," continued Aqualad. "Robin, we'll talk again. Over and out."_

_Aqualad's__ face and signal disappeared. _

_Robin eyebrow was arched to the high heavens, staring at Starfire._

_She twiddled her fingers, flashing an embarrassed smile. "'Twas months and months ago; considerable time before—erm—_us, _Robin."_

_Cyborg__ began to laugh and if Beast Boy hadn't been so upset by the loss of their remote control, he would have been laughing just as loudly. "Raven and Aqualad are pen pals!"_

_Raven's hand fisted and glowed black. "I was being courteous. I had to write back."_

_"But who wrote first?"_

_Raven ignored Cyborg's question. "Robin, we should focus on the case."_

_Robin still had his eyebrow arched at Starfire and all Starfire could do was bat her eyelashes at him. She flashed him a pleading look, beseeching him not to get upset. He was unable to resist a small smile and a chuckle. It relieved her to no end to see him taking it so well. _

_"Raven's right," said Robin. "We have to focus, people. Cy, stop laughing. Beast Boy, we'll get a new remote. It's no big deal. I'm hooking everyone up to Aqualad's system. If he calls, we'll all get the signal. That ought to make Raven and Starfire happy."_

_Starfire__ felt the heat rise in her cheeks. "Robin!" _

_"I _don't _do happy," said Raven. The couch behind her jumped a foot in the air and crashed back down. _

_The smirk on Robin's face wasn't particularly amusing. _

After their meeting with the Titans, Robin finished encoding his reports, referring to Starfire constantly to confirm facts. When the reports were done, he tenderly suggested that they go to sleep.

She had snuggled into his embrace when they sank into the sheet of her bed, and as she got comfortable, he asked one last question.

"Aqualad wrote to you?"

She giggled. "Twice. I could—um—show you the letters. They are in my scrap book."

"No, that's fine. Go to sleep."

She gave him a kiss goodnight, bidding him sweet dreams.

The following morning, they were shocked to discover they had slept in later than they hoped.

At breakfast, Alfred reminded them of the gallery gala opening for the following night. It meant Robin had to have a new tuxedo made.

"My old one's fine," he had said.

Alfred did not humor him. "That may be, Master Richard, but since you are here Master Bruce thought you should have a new one made."

It was then that the quick transformation from Robin to Richard Grayson began. Alfred spent all day reorienting Robin on the finer points of red-carpet etiquette and modern art.

Robin had to remember artist names, their works, their mediums, which millionaire bought whose art and which art was in what museum. When Robin had his art down pat, Alfred tutored him on who was who, who was not, who was rising and who was going down; who had lypo-suction, hair implants, nose jobs, boob jobs, chin reductions, chin enhancements and who had lost weight the traditional way.

"And I urge you, Master Robin," said Alfred. "When you see Madame Louisante, _do not, _under any circumstance, comment on her rhinoplasty_. She_ thinks it's wonderful. That is all that matters."

"Well, what does it look like?" asked Robin.

Alfred hesitated. "If I may be so blunt…"

"Please. Be blunt."

"She should _sue _her plastic surgeon."

"Yikes."

"You may concentrate on her dog. It is a newly acquired Schnauzer and she seems very proud of it. So far, she has taken it to all the social functions she'd had to attend in the last month. She has only left it at home once, when she had to meet Karl Lagerfeld in CHANEL at Seventh Avenue; they don't allow pets inside the store. Mr. Lagerfeld gave her a Gucci Dog Carrier as a peace offering; you may comment on the bag as well. She will appreciate it."

Robin got along fast enough; his IQ and memory had always been superior, but he certainly looked bored out of his mind.

At the grand opening, Robin and Starfire walked the red carpet together; him in his new tux and her in her beautiful amber-tone evening gown. When Richard Grayson was asked by the small group of reporters whether she and he were dating, his answer was smoothly evasive; neither confirming nor denying. He smiled with practiced ease, showed his best side as instructed by Alfred and casually placed a friendly arm over her shoulders, just so the "body language experts" could have their own field-day. "Ms. Starfire is dating Robin, the Boy Wonder. I don't want to be getting on the bad side of a superhero, now would I?"

As they left the reporters behind, Starfire gave him a wry smile. "Impressive. And you did not have to lie, either. Bruce and Alfred would be proud."

"I'm never going to hear the end of it from BB and Cy."

She giggled.

They stayed together for quite some time as they mingled with Bruce Wayne and the rest of Gotham's elite. As the evening wore on and everyone fell at ease, Dr. Leeman, one of the few unexpected faces in the guest list, appeared and offered to take her on a tour of the art. Since Bruce needed to take Robin aside anyway, Starfire agreed to go with Dr. Leeman.

So far, walking around the gallery with Dr. Leeman had been an interesting education. He knew his art. The painting after "Burst in Beethoven's Notturno for Viola and Piano in D Major" was a silhouette of a woman who looked half cat, one arm extended like a whip while her other hand looked ready to claw someone's eye out.

"Ah," said Dr. Leeman with a wistful sigh. "Saul Mantis; absolutely one of my favorites, mainly because, like I, he has a fascination for superheroes and supervillains. This work is entitled _Feline; _it's Catwoman. Can you see?"

Starfire looked at it with sincere appreciation. "Oh, yes. It is very sensual."

"Do you like it?"

She nodded enthusiastically.

"Good! I bought this one for myself."

"Oh, my! Well, it is glorious artwork." She looked at the price and saw it at two hundred thousand. It made her think that anesthesiologists must get paid quite a bit.

Dr. Leeman chuckled. "My grandmother, rest her soul, left me quite a sum when she passed away. My only vice is art, dearie, and it's an expensive habit, but it feeds the soul like nothing else. I collect art such as this. _Feline _will hang right beside my _Hero on the Parapet _by Lissette Schwann. It's a captivating portrayal of Batman."

"That sounds fascinating, Dr. Leeman, but why put the Catwoman beside Batman?"

"Because there are strong rumors that they have a thing for one another," said the familiar voice of Robin behind them.

Dr. Leeman laughed, shrugging. "Call me a 'shipper, if you wish."

Robin came up beside Starfire and he looked at _Feline _critically. "Nice strokes. I like how the he makes the whip looks like a tail and an extension of her arm at the same time."

Dr. Leeman nodded. "Yes, and Catwoman's inherent seductive allure just makes the painting all the more alive. She's vicious; and fierce."

Robin nodded, his eyes glazing over as if a memory filled it. "Yes. Yes, she is."

Starfire stifled a giggle. No doubt, Robin had, in the past, found himself on the unfriendly end of Catwoman's whip and claws. She hooked her hand on his arm and they stared at the painting together.

They were suddenly joined by another guest, and for a moment, Starfire was completely won over by the Schnauzer-pup that was whining pitifully in its mistress' dog carrier. She was about to comment on how adorable the dog was when she looked up and realized who the dog's owner was.

Even before introductions were made, Starfire had a feeling that she was looking right at the awful rhinoplasty of Madam Louisante.

"Whoa," said Robin, caught completely by surprise.

Starfire stepped on his foot without batting an eyelash, but she couldn't entirely blame him for his reaction. The thing in the middle of Madam Louisante's face was, in essence, a perfectly sculpted piece of art, but it was huge, and grossly incompatible with the rest of her which was basically delicate in feature and bone structure. The appendage looked like someone had pulled it out of her face and it never went back to its normal size.

Dr. Leeman did the honors. "Madam Louisante, this is Starfire."

Madam Louisante gave her a dignified nod and Starfire replied cheerfully. "It is nice to meet you, ma'am."

"And this is Richard Grayson," continued Dr. Leeman.

"How do you do?" asked Madam Louisante.

Robin gave a nod of his own, though in a slightly distracted manner. "It's nose to—_nice_ to meet you…"

Starfire turned to him discreetly and widened her eyes at him in warning, but he was too preoccupied with the travesty of a nose to notice.

If Madam Louisante heard the lapse, she made no sign of it. She began talking about how wonderful the gallery was, and how the Gallery Director's taste was proving to be exquisite. She made comments about how she admired Bruce Wayne for extending himself to the fine industry of intellectual beauty and creative genius. It was all going quite well, until the small dog sneezed twice and stuck his head out, panting and yipping for Starfire's attention.

"Oh, isn't he precious? Aren't you the cutest little doggy? Yes, you are!" said Starfire, tenderly shaking the dog's paw. Madam Louisante seemed pleased by the compliment and Starfire elbowed Robin to say something. Alfred did mention that the dog was the lady's pride and joy.

Robin was quick to comment. "It's one of the best shnoozles—_Schnauzers—_I've ever seen. Did you get it from Hayden Kennels?"

It took all of Starfire's willpower to let it pass. _Shnoozle_was even worse than _nose._

Madam Louisante's eyebrow arched ever so slightly, but she replied. "Oh, yes. He breeds the best Schnauzers this side of the country."

The dog sneezed again.

"Something must be irritating it," said Starfire. "Perhaps he does not like my perfume?"

"Oh," said Robin. "Dogs have extraordinary senses. Hunting Breeds like this tend to get affected easily by unnatural scents. Its smeller is its best asset on the hunt." Of course, he had to tap a finger on his own nose twice to emphasize the point.

Starfire had had enough. "Richard, might you accompany me outside for some air?" She didn't even wait for him to reply. She just took him by the arm and pulled him to the back exit of the gallery. After the bouncer at the exit let them through, they found themselves alone in a secluded alley.

She turned to him disapprovingly. "Richard! Were you doing that on purpose?"

He groaned. "No! Of course not! It's just that it was all I could see; that _thing _in the middle of her face… God, it put the rhino in _rhinoplasty_. She paid for that? Alfred's right. She ought to _sue."_

She sighed, rolling her eyes. "Goodness… that was _so _embarrassing! You just kept _saying it _and _saying it!" _

_"I'm sorry!"_

They fell silent and after they had taken the time to breathe, they began to laugh.

Starfire was laughing so hard her stomach began to ache. They doubled over in mirth, expelling the last of their laughter. Finally, they settled down, gasping for breath.

"Honestly, Richard," she said, grinning. "Do you think this affair so terrible? In truth, I am having fun looking at all the wonderful paintings. Just the thought that I could have _missed _this makes it all worth while."

He shrugged. "Oh, I guess I've had more than my fair share of events like this when I lived in Gotham full time, but I'm glad you're enjoying yourself. We'll be back in the tower in a couple of days. It'll be goodbye to three hundred fifty thousand dollar paintings and hello ten dollar pizzas."

She giggled. "Sounds like home."

"Nothing like it." He took her hand. "Come on. Let's go back inside. Might as well see this thing through, and hope that I don't have to talk to Madam Louisante again."

Smiling, she stole a kiss and it was evident enough that Robin didn't mind at all. He did, in fact, let her steal at least two more before he led her back into the art gallery.

88888888888888888888

Starfire leaned sleepily against the car door from within Bruce Wayne's stretch Jaguar. The billionaire "playboy" sat across from her, his gaze trained outside, the colors of the world reflecting on his face. She wondered what such a man as he thought idly about. Did his mind wander just like any ordinary person, or was even his random thoughts extraordinary? He had demons, they said. Did they come to him when he was awake, or do they come to him in his dreams?

Beside her was Robin, coat off, his gaze just as far away; just as enigmatic as Bruce, but was he just as solitary? It would seem he wasn't, being a leader of a team, but she remembered something Diana said; something about Robin being nomadic…

It made her shiver as she turned her gaze back on the streets outside.

She felt a warm hand descend on her arm and she was startled out of her musings.

"Cold?" asked Robin.

"A little bit."

He reached over, draping his coat over her shoulders.

She could smell his cologne on the material and it made her smile. She pulled the coat closer around herself and leaned her head on his shoulder. Never mind if Bruce was there; he seemed too preoccupied to notice, anyway.

Robin gave a small smile, leaning back comfortably on his seat before staring at the scene outside the car. She was glad he didn't mind so much.

The gala opening was supposed to be a relatively relaxing affair, filled with easy conversation and the occasional intimate discussion, but at the end of the long night, it was as exhausting as any party. She hadn't realized how being with so many pleasant and beautiful people (sans the bad nose jobs) could be so tiring.

She knew she wasn't the only one feeling low on her batteries. Most of the drive was spent in silence, and while it was common to have Bruce and Robin silent when they had no choice but to be within close proximity of each other, it was evident enough that the quiet was brought by having already talked enough at the gallery.

Starfire dozed off sometime during the ride and before she knew it, Robin was nudging her gently awake having arrived at the mansion.

Drowsily, she walked into the house. Halfway through the reception hall, Bruce separated from them, heading straight for the one of the many secret doors that led to the Bat Cave.

"You doing your rounds tonight?" asked Robin.

"Yep," said Bruce.

Starfire couldn't even imagine how he could fight crime after such an exhausting event. She had to remind herself that it was the lifestyle Bruce and Batman was used to. Just thinking about it tired her. Her eyes fluttered lazily and Robin, seeing her, gave a soft laugh.

"It's all that talking; and being polite. That's what used to drain me," he said.

She yawned. "And you used to do this constantly? How exhausting!"

"Didn't you do it as a princess? I bet you and your family had a ton of social obligations."

Starfire chuckled. "I was a child then, remember? While I did have to go with my parents and sister to social functions, there was little expectation from me, so I was not as important enough to pay attention to. I could do as I pleased, so if I did not wish to talk to anyone, all I had to do was disappear into the gardens and wait it out with baby Ryand'r and his nurse. And when I became crown princess after the Okaaran trials, I might have gained importance in rank, but I was still only just eight. Besides, by that time, there weren't many social functions anymore. The star system was at war; not many people felt like celebrating anything."

A melancholic looked passed over his eyes and he expelled a deep breath. "Every time I think about you being caught in a war at such a young age, I feel—well, really bad. I had it so easy compared to you. I shouldn't have complained about anything."

She shook her head. "Do not think that way. It belittles the pain you felt for the loss of your parents. If I had to choose between what I had to endure and what _you _had to endure, I would choose the slavery still."

He put an arm around her as they strolled through the chamber hallway. "But you lost your family anyway."

She shrugged. "It is different when you lose parents who were ripped away, like what happened to you. With me, we merely drifted apart. Maybe one day, I will see them again—"

She was interrupted by the incessant beeping of their T-Comms. They exchanged a significant gaze before they bustled to grab their communicators. Harris' face came on screen.

"Something's happening," he said in a confidential tone. "Some chick came in here about five minutes ago, asking about your prisoner and his bail. It's weird because bail on your prisoner hasn't been set, but Soames just called her to his office. I don't know what Soames has to do with all this, but it don't surprise me one bit that he's stuck his nose into the matter."

"Could I get an ID on this woman?" asked Robin.

Harris nodded. "Tall; at least six feet. Lots of curly brown hair. Big boned; fit."

Robin and Starfire exchanged looks. It didn't sound like Blackfire at all.

"Good work, Harris. Keep me posted. Over and out."

They snapped their communicators shut and rushed to the Bat Cave.

Starfire flew straight to the locker rooms where she put on the uniform Alfred had made for her. Bludhaven was an hour and a half to two hours away by motorcycle and she considered telling Robin she should fly ahead. She could get there in thirty minutes at full speed.

When she flew out of the locker room doors, Batman and Robin were just then emerging. She had never seen Batman up close and personal and she had to shake off her awe. It was as if his cape made him look ten times bigger, and his mask ten times as scary.

"Batman's agreed to drop us off at Bludhaven," said Robin. "It'll take us thirty minutes, tops."

Starfire had to wonder what sort of vehicle could take them to Bludhaven in thirty minutes when it usually took them much longer than that, but she wasn't about to ask such questions in the face of Batman and Robin.

Robin strode to his R-Cycle and she was even more confused. He kicked his motorcycle to life.

"I'll see you at the airfield in three minutes, Robin," said Batman, jumping gracefully into the Bat Car.

Robin grinned. "Slowpoke," he said, strapping on his helmet. "Starfire, you're with me."

She nodded, gliding to his side.

Robin took off into one of the caves while the Bat Car shot into another. She noticed that Robin was driving _much _faster than his usual ninety-five miles per hour. She had to increase her own speed, but it wasn't a difficult thing to manage.

Approximately three minutes since they first left the Bat Cave, they emerged into a deserted airfield. In the distance, she could see something black and immense rising from the ground.

She heard the scream of an engine coming from another direction, and seconds later, they were riding side by side with the Bat Car.

Her eyes adjusted to the darkness, and she realized what was rising from the ground. It was a chopper; sleek, looking almost as liquid as ink. The Bat Car and R-Cycle came to a screeching halt and Batman was quick to hop out of his car.

Robin did not move from his cycle.

Batman passed them with quick strides. "Took you long enough," he said to Robin aside.

"Didn't want to leave you too far behind," Robin shot back.

"Starfire, come with me," said Batman.

She felt herself follow the command with almost mechanical obedience.

Batman led them to the copter and he hopped inside the cockpit, flipping switches one after another with practiced speed. "Crank the hatch-lock at the back for me, will you? It's a bitch at the first turn, and the hatch door's heavy as hell, but I'd imagine you'd have no problem with it."

She nodded, zipping to the back of the copter to search for the hatch-lock. She found it, turned it with hardly any effort on her part and pulled the hatch open. There was a buzzing sound, like oiled gears and hydraulic mechanisms. She stepped back as a platform was lowered by four retractable arms. A minute later, there was a thick slab of metal laid out towards the back of the copter.

Robin revved his motorcycle and quickly drove it up on top of the platform. Thick metal clamps popped out of the platform and secured the motorcycle. Robin did not turn the motorcycle off as he dismounted and headed to the cargo doors.

He jerked his head to the cockpit. "Go sit beside Batman. I have to stay at the back."

Still following orders, she got into the copter. When the copter doors were secured, she proceeded to buckle herself down and put on her headpiece. The copter lifted off the ground quicker than Starfire expected.

Robin began to bustle at the back, shrugging something on. "Starfire, get Aqualad on the T-Comm. Ask him if there hasn't been any craft-activity in the water in the last few hours. I'll talk to Cyborg. They should've gotten Harris' message, too."

She nodded. Oddly enough, she didn't feel quite fan-girlish at the moment. Aqualad was quick to respond. "Aqualad here."

"Have you managed to communicate with your aquatic friends near Bludhaven?" asked Starfire.

Aqualad nodded gravely. "I have, but they couldn't tell me much. Apparently, Bludhaven waters are more uninhabitable than I thought. The fish swim through the waters, but they don't live there, so not many fish stick around long enough near Bludhaven to notice anything unusual. They did report feeling unnatural changes in the current. Sporadic, mainly, hardly disruptive, but I've taken to investigating. I think maybe I felt it a few hours ago, but I couldn't get a lock on what it was or where it came from."

Starfire nodded. "Could current changes be caused by a craft shooting through the water?"

"Definitely, but unless I see it, there's no telling what it is by the feel of the current. I'll be patrolling Bludhaven waters in the next few hours. Whatever caused the currents earlier has to go back where it came from. I'll keep you posted."

"Please do. We will be in Bludhaven also. Hopefully, we could get a more solid lead on this trip."

"Alright. Over and out."

Starfire looked over her shoulder at Robin who had just finished communicating with Cyborg.

"Cyborg said there was nothing on the radars to show there was a craft entering the Earth's atmosphere," he told them.

Starfire told Robin what she learned from Aqualad and he started to shake his head.

"It doesn't make any sense," he said. "That woman has to be someone from Blackfire's camp then. It's evident enough that it's someone who's willing to pay more than just his bail, or else Soames wouldn't be wasting his time on her. You think Blackfire's wearing a cloaking device?"

Starfire shook her head. "A cloaking device could change her appearance, but not her height; even if she wears height enhancing shoes. And there is absolutely no way Blackfire has grown another five inches since the last time we saw her. Whoever that woman is, it is _not _Blackfire."

Robin frowned. "Dammit… how are they hiding their ship's signal?"

Thirty minutes later, they were flying above the city of Bludhaven and Robin jumped to the far end of the cargo compartment.

"Starfire, I'll see you in the Bludhaven police station," said Robin. "Batman, thanks for the ride. Loathe as I am to say this: I owe you one."

"I'll hold you to that, Boy Wonder," said Batman, a tiny smirk forming on his lips.

Starfire realized with great anxiety that Batman was not going to land the copter.

Robin pulled open a hatch on the copter's floor and slipped through it. Starfire bit back the urge to yell at him to be careful.

"Thank you, Batman," said Starfire. "I shall see you back at the mansion."

Batman nodded, pushing a button on the control panel.

The passenger-side door slid open and a blast of wind shot through. Gauging its force, she jumped out of the cockpit.

She felt the wind hit like a tornado, whipping her hair back and forth and pushing her back several meters, but she had flown through stronger winds, and all it took was a few seconds of adjustment. She shot forward, gliding to the copter's side. She saw the door sliding close.

Starfire adjusted her flight, lowering herself to fly beneath the helicopter. She saw Robin securing himself to his motorcycle and pulling at the buckles strapped to him. On his back was what looked like a parachute. Her stomach turned, knowing how dangerous the stunt would be. Ever since she knew Robin, he was fearlessly throwing himself off building ledges and cliffs, and he always came out unscathed. Nevertheless, it never ceased to frighten her; the things he did. He could get seriously hurt; or he could die.

This time, though, she would be there to catch him. She watched, heart thudding, as he readied himself for the drop. His lips moved, and seconds later, the latches on the motorbike snapped away. The platform fell open like a trap beneath him.

His freefall began as wings snapped out of the motorcycle's sides. The wings were not meant to make the vehicle fly, but it guided his descent, just so the motorcycle wouldn't flip awkwardly while in mid-air.

Starfire moved far enough away from him to give his parachute space but close enough to save him in case something went wrong.

After what seemed like forever, Robin rose on his haunches, bracing himself. Parachutes shot out from the front and back of the cycle, halting the motorcycle's descent with a snap. Robin kept his balance in spite of the jolt and soon, he was gliding down with her towards one of the many abandoned lots of Bludhaven.

Robin gave her the okay sign with his hand and she smiled, knowing it meant he was safe, and that she could go on ahead. She nodded, shooting off ahead of him.

She would be waiting for him at the police station.

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Starfire jumped off the ledge of the police station rooftop the moment she saw Robin's motorcycle roaring into the station's front steps. Together, they barged into the station, and fists aglow, she demanded to see Inspector Soames.

At least three officers scampered to follow her command.

Seconds later, one of the officers told them Soames would see them in the conference room.

They made their way quickly and soon, they were watching Soames light a cigarette with one hand while the other held a cup of coffee.

Soames smiled through his cigarette. "Well, aren't you two inseparable?"

Starfire narrowed her gaze at him but said nothing.

"Where's the visitor?" Robin asked.

Soames looked mildly surprise. "Well, well, well. Someone in cop-shop's been telling tales. And here I was, thinking I was special."

"We have our sources. Now talk, Soames. We haven't the time for this."

Soames chuckled. "That trading card you sent me was good stuff. Prancer sang like a nightingale the moment I flashed it, but I don't think it buys you customer care, Boy Wonder. Perhaps if you got your girlfriend to ask me nicely… I don't mind at all if you watch."

Starfire, not the least bit pleased that he was taunting Robin, surged forward, grabbing him by the collar of his shirt and slamming him against the wall. Soames dropped his coffee on impact and the cigarette shot from his lips as breath was forced out of his lungs.

Soames gasped in pain and shock.

She smiled, baring her teeth. "Nice enough for you, Mr. Soames?" She felt the heat emanating from her eyes and she forced herself to calm down. It wouldn't do to char him, or perhaps even herself, unwittingly.

Robin was beside them both in an instant.

"Spill it, Soames," said Robin.

"You missed her by ten minutes," rasped Soames. "She introduced herself as Betty Mae Clampett, but there was absolutely nothing _hillbilly _about _her. _She does talk very strangely, like a foreigner who doesn't know how to use common slang words."

"What else? Come on. You could do better than that!"

Starfire shook him again.

Soames grit his teeth but he spoke. "The boys told me she drives a beaten up white pick-up truck. She said she would be coming back to bail Victoria out when bail was set."

"Which is when?"

"It's not going to happen in Bludhaven. They'll be transporting Victoria to Jump City tomorrow. I'm sure he'd have bail set a few hours after he gets there. Your justice system is so much more dependa—"

"Quit babbling! Did she give you her contact information? I bet you managed to weasel her into paying you to keep her posted."

"Now, why would I do that if I knew bail wouldn't be set for him in Bludhaven?"

"Because you're greedy. Contact information, Soames. _Now!"_

In response to Robin's demand, Starfire charged her fist, holding her glowing hand up for him to see. She smiled. "I am told that when certain parts of a man's body is exposed to extreme heat, it could cause _sterility."_

Soames gulped, but he smiled back. "Starfire, my love… you needn't do _that. _You know I could never say no to you."

"Give us her contact information."

"She gave me a transmitter. A small one; like a penlight. It's in my left pant pocket. If you don't believe me, you could frisk me."

She didn't know if she wanted to be sticking her hand into his pants, pocket or not.

Robin smirked. "In your dreams, buddy." He fished out the transmitter. It was indeed as small as a penlight, but it had intricate carvings on it familiar to them both.

"That'll do, Soames," said Robin, turning to leave.

Starfire tossed Soames to the side and he toppled over some chairs.

"Easy, luv! I thought I meant something to you!" Soames cried after her.

"Ugh!" She said, rolling her eyes as she followed Robin out.

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Robin pulled a chord out from his R-Cycle's computer, pulling up a map of Bludhaven on its small monitor. He undid the clips at the end of the chord exposing bare copper wiring.

They worked fast. Starfire selected an adaptor among the many stored in the cycle's utility kit and Robin began winding the wires around it. When the chord was ready to be used, she jammed the adaptor into one of the transmitter's slots. Of course, the fit was not at all perfect; the slots were as alien as the technology, but she knew it would be enough to give them a connection. The transmitter was, after all, Tamaranian in make.

Sliding her fingers down the right carving, she established contact with its sister transmitter. All they needed were six seconds.

The answer came. The voice from the speaker was distorted, but understandable.

"Hello?" said the voice. "Mr. Soames? Hello?"

Robin counted it down. "…two… one… got it!"

Right at that moment, the transmitter at the other end was turned off. It didn't matter. They had a lock on the transmitter's location. The red dot that was their quarry beeped and moved slowly on screen.

"She's heading east through Littleneck Narrows Bridge," said Robin. "You go on ahead and intercept her; I'll follow. She could take the northbound exit, stay the course southbound or head east. At any rate, keep your radio open. Go!"

Starfire took off, cranking her sense of direction to high gear. She wasn't afraid of getting lost, unfamiliar as Bludhaven's geography was to her. After having traveled galaxies, it was easy to find ones way in a small city, especially from the air.

She sliced through the air at full speed, orienting herself to north, south, east and west. Soon enough, she saw an east-bound bridge. It crossed over a river that emptied into what she could only assume was the Narrows. She lowered herself, reading the signs. It read _Littleneck__Narrows__Bridge_

She was on the right track. She radioed Robin. "Robin, might you tell me where to go? I am at the bridge of Littleneck Narrows."

Robin's voice came over the T-Comm. "She took the northbound exit to Mealtide Island and went further north. Off-road, in fact. If I didn't know any better, I'd say she's headed to Langley Point. Maybe Victoria was telling the truth about underwater crafts after all."

"Agreed. We must contact Aqualad and brief him of the situation."

"I'm on it."

She tucked her radio securely on her belt and surged full-speed-ahead. Soon enough, she spotted moving headlights in the distance, rocking and lurching on the un-paved road.

The blare of a fog-horn rang in the night air and the rhythmic sounds of moving train cars clanged on railings. Beneath her, she could see a slow moving caboose. She pushed forward, passing it, and she flew over the train-cars pulling it along.

The salty smell of the sea grew even stronger as the wind of the Atlantic blew ever nearer. She contacted Robin again. "I could see the vehicle. It does not seem to be moving."

"It's at Langley Point. I'll be there in five minutes. Aqualad said he's on his way. Try to find out who this person is and if you can, detain her. And… be careful."

"Affirmative."

Determined to catch their prey, Starfire search the darkness for anyone who might be traveling on foot. She spotted someone walking purposefully towards the Atlantic shore.

Langley Point used to be a pier of common use. Fishing boats and barges would dock at its shores and unload its cargo straight to the trains for future pick-up. In time, as commerce picked up in central Bludhaven, Mealtide Island, too far east and relatively inaccessible, became less and less practical for drop-offs. In the last ten years, Mealtide Island, though still useful for many things, like homes and parks and train yards, had lost much of its allure for international and domestic shipping and trade.

The rotting wood of the port platforms, suspended ten feet above the sand and rocks by thick stilts, creaked and groaned as the waves splashed against it, but the tall stranger with the long brown hair walked over them unafraid.

Starfire landed on the gravelly ground some distance off as quietly as she could manage, the soft chime of her powers petering as she let go of flight.

The pounding of waves against the rocky shoreline of Langley Point was enough to drown out her approach and the lone figure standing at the dock stared out to the open sea, as if too filled with thought to notice anything else.

Even from afar, Starfire saw the stranger's proud posture; how she stood straight, her shoulders fanned out without the slightest hint of a slouch. Her flowing chestnut brown hair reached her waist and it teased the wind with ringlets. The stranger turned, showing a strong profile in a feminine mold.

Starfire knew she could incapacitate the stranger with a simple ambush; she had the advantage of surprise. But for the meantime, she had to heed Robin's words; she had to learn what she can before she fell upon the stranger.

Sinking into the shadows, Starfire approached her quietly, formulating a plan as she skulked in the darkness. She wished earnestly that she had Robin's swift cunning. If she had half his intellect, a plan would have come automatically, and it would work. She cursed her own inability to think past a head-on attack. She _used _to be much better at plotting a strategy in any kind of situation. She had, after all, trained under the Warlords of Okaara _and_ she passed the trials when her sister hadn't. But ever since she came to Earth and joined the Titans, it seemed her ability to formulate strategy had dulled.

It just seemed so much easier to trust someone like Robin with the important stuff. She was spoiled, and so were the rest of the Titans, which was probably why they all fell apart when Robin wasn't around to formulate an attack plan.

Amidst the crashing of the current, Starfire suddenly heard an odd sound.

At low tied, she could peek beneath the wooden platforms; see through the stout legs of the elevated dock; past the rocks lining the shore. A thick froth was forming on the surface of the water, just underneath the stranger's gaze.

The water splashed; the foam thickened for an instant and then disappeared, as if whatever was causing it underwater had risen out of its depths. Starfire blinked and squinted, trying to understand just what had happened. Whatever it was, it was dripping salt water from above the surface of the sea.

She trained her gaze above the docks and the stranger raised a hand, spreading her palm in front of what looked like a mirage. Starfire had to blink again; disoriented. It looked like a blob of clear water rippling ever so slightly in mid-air.

Another heartbeat and Starfire gathered her thoughts: She must not let the stranger get away.

Starfire shot into the air, powers shimmering in the wind.

The blob of water gained solidity, becoming a strange, streamlined craft; one that could slice through water with great speed and ease. A hatch was opened and Starfire surged forward.

She swooped down.

The stranger looked up.

And everything changed.

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The familiarity in her brown eyes was astounding. Even after all their years apart; even with the passage of time, living their lives, the recognition; the affection; the tragedy and the sharp bitterness in her gaze was ever present and clear.

Displace, Starfire lost her focus. Her thoughts scattered, her resolve twisting awkwardly into indecision. The aggressive approach she had planned shriveled at the strong wave of love and affection that befell her, recognizing the face of the woman before her.

Starfire pulled back her flight, but not soon enough. She barreled into the stranger, tossing them both against the rotting boards of the pier. It shattered under the force, landing them awkwardly in the pebbled sand underneath. They both cried out as they fell, tumbling awkwardly as they struggled to regain their footing. Sea foam and water lapped over them, causing them to sputter.

Starfire pushed the hair from off her eyes, blinking back the salt spray and staring at the woman's face. She was dreaming, surely, but the sting of the salt on the scratches wrought by the sharp wood splinters and roughened pebbles tingled through her arms and legs. Pain was real; she was awake.

"X'Hal!" said the woman in a language Starfire hadn't heard in a long time. "Koriand'r! G-Girl, how did you… "

The structure of the language assembled itself in Starfire's mind, and gasping, she spoke the language of Kalapatt. "X-Xyannis! How—why—_what are you doing here?"_

They stared at one another, hopelessly confused.

Pushing herself to her feet, Starfire stood, stepping away from the woman who gave her hope during all those years of awful slavery. It occurred to Starfire that this was not the kind of reaction she had expected from herself, seeing Xyannis again. Starfire thought that at least, she would be overjoyed to know that Xyannis was still alive; but to be standing, face to face with her spirit-sister, and know not what to make of it, was the kind of first meeting Starfire never envisioned.

_So far apart, _thought Starfire, sadness blanketing her as the reality of the situation dawned on her. Starfire knew—from the very marrow of her bones—that whatever game they were caught in, they were on opposite sides.

"Starfire, Goddess be! You are alive! You are—I am so happy!" Xyannis, smiling, stepped towards her, hand outstretched. Starfire, brows knotting, stepped back in response. A look of surprise fell upon Xyannis' beautiful face. "Girl, are you not glad to see me?"

Starfire blinked back tears. She was! Oh, she was! _But why this way, Xyannis?__ Why have you let Blackfire poison you this way? _"Y-You work with Blackfire…"

Xyannis' eyes widened before anxiety befell her features. "How did you know… what do you know of it? Girl, Blackfire and I… we have similar ideals. In many things, she and I agree—"

Starfire shook her head. "No, you are _not the same!" _

"Starfire…" Xyannis attempted to approach her once more and Starfire moved even farther away. She looked even more perplexed; hurt. "Why do you run away…?"

"What you do with Blackfire is _wrong! _You are killing people and hurting their loved ones and letting others suffer! Who do you think put Maxwell Victoria in jail? Who—did Blackfire not even mention me? I have taken to protecting the people in this side of the planet. Blackfire knows this! Do you think I would let you keep harming innocent lives? I cannot stand by—"

Xyannis' lips tautened to a line, the friendly and affectionate expression fading from her eyes. "No, Blackfire did not mention your name, but if she had, I might—I would _still_ pursue this path with her. Starfire, whatever you know of this, this _does not concern you! _You understand that I would never drag you into this if I could help it, but I made a promise to Blackfire and to myself that I would see this through no matter what—"

Starfire grit her teeth. "Well, I am here! And I am involved! What will you do now?"

At first, Xyannis said nothing, but from her expression, it was evident she knew what she was going to say. "I am sorry, Starfire, but I cannot let you stop us."

Something turned in Starfire's stomach, and the situation became more real to her. "I know Blackfire has been coming to Earth, attending to matters here, but she sent you this time. This is your first time on Earth, isn't it?"

Xyannis did not reply.

Starfire nodded. "Blackfire sent _you _because she knew that we the Titans would be making our move. She wanted you to be the one to face me; to hurt me even more. When I delivered Maxwell Victoria to the police, he unwittingly alerted Blackfire to the fact that I have found her out, and Blackfire is striking back at me by sending you."

"She is ruthless that way."

"It is _her _way."

Xyannis nodded. "But you are wrong about Maxwell Victoria alerting her. She knew, long before, that she would be sending me. She made me learn the language of this _America_ before Maxwell Victoria was caught. You are, however, correct about Blackfire striking back to hurt you. One way or another, this meeting between you and me would have happened; she made sure of it. It hurts you, and it tests _me._ It is the way a real Tamaranian warrior was taught to fight a battle; strike where the enemy is most vulnerable. You should know this. You did, after all, pass the trials when your sister did not."

Xyannis' words hurt Starfire inexplicably. "So she has taught you to hate me as well?"

The woman's expression was immovable for an instant before it softened ever so slightly. "I cannot hate you, Starfire. You, who were so dear to me during those months we shared in slavery… but I have commitments; I swore loyalty to your sister and our cause. Much as you are so near to my heart, my mind is inevitably set in a different path."

Xyannis strode forward and Starfire flinched back, but Xyannis did not go to her. Instead, the tall woman walked past Starfire, climbing back on to the platform to go to her ship.

"Xyannis, do not do this!" said Starfire, half-pleading, half-forcefully. "Blackfire is ruthless, but you are _not. _You care what happens to people! Have you forgotten Thurden? When they whipped him and I tried to stop them? You suffered my punishment with me! You said you did not want me to suffer alone because you did not want them to break me! Xyannis!"

Xyannis whipped around, keeping her gaze on Starfire steady; intense. "Girl, do not think I have forgotten all those things. That is a part of me I remember each day. I remember the face of Thurden, dying from hunger and injury. I remember your face, so young yet made to suffer just like the rest of us. I remember Chisa and Holroth and Ganyd and Nenita and Galaroth; I remember them all!"

The very core of Starfire's being shook at the names from their past; the other slaves who endured with them.

"Don't you see?" continued Xyannis. "It is the very memory of _them_ that drives me. Until now, I thought you were dead as well!"

Starfire's heart skipped a beat. "W-What do you—"

"They are all dead, Starfire. They died as slaves! The others too, are gone forever: Yensai, Beshira, Bethen, Wix, Shada… all but Ganyd were fetched back by his family. All the others' bodies were burned in the Gordanian incinerators. And I had to watch them die, Starfire. I had to watch Galaroth and Shada waste away while the others were gutted and beheaded when our master began the slave purge."

_Slave purge? Gutted? Beheaded! _Starfire tried to push the revolting thought from her mind, but it was there, and she could not un-hear it.

"When the Citadellian-Gordanian Empire began to fall, our master began to kill the slaves off in his compound; one by one; telling us that for every Citadellian government overthrown, he would kill one slave; for every Gordanian government overrun, he would kill two. Blackfire and I were able to escape with Galaroth in the end, but slavery had done its worse on him. He did not last long…"

Starfire's eyes stung. She placed faces to the names, and only the warmth of her hand against her heart gave what little comfort she could find from the grief. "Galaroth…" she whispered. She could not believe that _they were all dead. _

"And who put us all in bondage? Who placed us at the mercy of these monsters? It was the Gordanians and Citadellians who bound us in shackles, but it was the weakness of our rulers, our supposed fathers and mothers, who let us be taken. How could we put our trust on leaders like them? How could entire planets be expected to prosper if their leaders could not lead them in a fight against such _stupid, mindless, grunting _lizards? Slaves like us; we knew our masters. We saw how uneducated they were; how _impossibly idiotic _they could be! How in the galaxy were they able to overrun the likes of us; proud, intelligent races like the Kalapattians and the Tamaranians? Our leaders were inefficient. Our governments were flawed. We need change; we need unity under one leadership. It is the only way we are going to survive. You shake your head like you do not agree, but look at you… you haven't even gone back to your planet. You do not wish to see your parents; the ones who exchanged their children like export goods."

"No… it is not like that…"

"So you see, Starfire, I cannot let you steer me from this course. You saw your share of the dead, but it is only when you look upon the eyes of the dying, like I did, that death really changes you."

Starfire's hands fisted and it pained her to hear such words. It took all of her will power to remind herself that she had a duty to uphold; that she had people to protect. She cannot let Xyannis get away.

"I am sorry, Xyannis. You have your course, and I have mine." Starfire surged forward, charging her hands. She threw the starbolts and the wood split in an ear-shattering explosion. Xyannis cried out just as she jumped into the craft's hatch, sticks of sharp wood embedded into her arm.

Determined as Starfire was of stopping Xyannis, she could not bear it. She gave a cry of horror, letting remorse wash over her. For a moment, she wavered. _How could I? Oh, my dear Xyannis!_

In another heartbeat, Starfire found the sense to remind herself once more of what her mission entailed.

Xyannis closed the hatch and Starfire shot her bolts, one after another, battering the ship with highly charged missiles. There was smoke; there were explosions, but the craft stood unharmed. It had a force field, and it flickered momentarily before it faded back to invisibility.

A sickening sensation rippled through Starfire. If the craft got away; if Xyannis got away; it could mean the suffering, pain and possibly the death of so many people; she must hesitate no further.

The craft began to move away from the pier with astounding speed, lowering itself just above the water like a speedboat.

Starfire heard someone behind her calling her name, but she paid it no heed. She shot after the craft, intent on trying to stop it. Starfire desperately fired bolts at it but found no success. She caught its tail with her hands, the force field letting them through. The moment she charged her bolts, the force field threw her back. It felt like she had blasted herself, and she gasped from the blow. She fell back, but she forced herself to recover, flying after the craft again.

She knew she must try to disable the ship with her own strength. Again, she caught the craft's tail, but just when she was about to rip its tail off, the craft sank into the water.

The force of the current shocked Starfire as she held on with an iron grip, the craft pulling her deep underwater. Her eyes widened, seeing the glow of charging turbo engines. If she did not let go, she would be charred black. Starfire had little choice but to release.

She let go, covering her face with her arms. She closed her eyes and desperately kicked herself from harm's way. There was a flash of heat, pain piercing through her arms. She was pushed back by a massive force and she felt the jarring crash of the sea-bed.

Starfire opened her eyes; the rumble of the water in her ears the only thing to indicate she was alive. There was no ship in sight. She needed to go to the surface; she needed air, but she could not move, and heavy, unidentifiable things began to fall on her. She wiggled and pulled and she saw that her legs were tangled in debris; pollutants. Crates were piling upon her; rusty oil drums and rotting fishing nets. The Bludhaven seabed was filthy and she was caught in its poison.

She tried to use her arms to pull away, but pain roiled through her. The skin of her arms stung, but she could not make out the extent of the damage through the murky waters. And then the pain in her lungs began. There was no air; only water. It was as if her body had ceased to know how to breathe.

The agony of living became so great that she understood how some could welcome death so gladly.

She might have heard a voice in her mind; perhaps it was a memory.

_Starfire__, hold on! Hold on!_

And she replied, somewhat cheerfully. For even in her last moments, she had that kind of heart. _Oh dear… that is quite difficult at this point…_

She gave herself over to the darkness of the sea.

_

* * *

_

_To be continued…_

Author's notes: Please don't kill me.

Many thanks! Detailed remarks to follow! I'm still typing it out, but I certainly wouldn't want to deny any of you this chapter.


	7. Gray Awakening

Standard disclaimers apply.

**PATH TO TAMARAN**

**Chapter Seven – Gray Awakening**

I imagined breath passing my lips Gentle waves of warmth and existence 

_Beside a sea of dis-reality_

_Truth, untrue, rising and taking dips_

_Near bothersome in its insistence_

_What I perceive I could not un-believe_

_I awake; jarred_

_Sleep-scarred; when dreams are bad_

_Sad; when dreams were well_

_Dwell; when reality is better left for sleeping_

Waking brought pain. The ache spiked from her lungs, up her throat and finally building into a pressured ache in her nasal passages. Taking breath came hardest, and then she had to expel it, or else she would drown.

She choked, water gurgling up and out of her mouth.

There were lips upon hers, and then they were gone as saline overflowed from within her. A face flashed before her eyes, or she may have been imagining things, masked and anonymous as he was, but she couldn't be sure. Nothing was clear at that point.

Strong hands turned her over on her side. Tears welled into her eyes; the salt of the sea overwhelming, like it had clung to the walls of her windpipe and the roof of her mouth. She tried to spit it out, but she heaved and gagged beyond her control. Her fingers dug into the sand and her body curled instinctively as the coughing wracked through her.

And then the choking eased. Breathing became less laborious, more rejuvenating, and as her blurred vision cleared, she began to make out sediments embedded in the dirty wet sand; how the sand and water seeped between her fingers and beneath her nails; how locks of her hair whipped like eels and then fell like damp curtains around her.

There were other sensations now. There was the sound of the waves, the touch of the wind, and then there was the warmth of something gripping her shoulder and rubbing her back. But she still felt disoriented in spite of the slight familiarity creeping up on her.

Her arms; they stung abominably, but she was too tired to complain. She thought that strange, for hadn't she been sleeping? She tried to push herself up by her arms, but she was yet too weak. Gently, she lowered herself, trying to relax, cheek to the sand. She could move in another minute, when she felt better. Maybe two minutes.

Someone expelled a breath behind her, sounding even more haggard than she was, if that were possible. "Christ, Starfire…"

And then there was warmth all over; like a blanket. Maybe it was.

_Or was it a cape? _Disorientation was slowly leaving her.

The garment wrapped around her was beaded by a bit of moisture; relatively dry, like it was waterproof, but it gave her warmth. That was all that mattered. Moments later, she pushed herself up, trembling. Strong hands helped her to rise to a sitting position.

Slowly, recognition of the masked man came. "Robin…"

Something in his hardened expression relaxed, as if he was relieved she recognized him. Her response was instinctive. She leaned against his chest, seeking the comfort she always found in him. He was disheveled, dripping wet and sandy, but it hardly mattered. His presence was enough.

There was another person there; and blinking away her haze, the face beside Robin became real to her as well. It was Aqualad. He was drenched, but being in his element, he looked poised and calm; composed.

Still, the sureness of Robin's arm around her chased away her shivers.

"We should get an ambulance," said Aqualad.

Robin nodded. "You call the paramedics; I'll administer first aid for the scalding."

Starfire, befuddled as she was, felt a frown forming on her face. She didn't know why, but the thought of strangers touching her suddenly felt so repugnant.

"No doctors," she said.

They looked at her in surprise. It was strange enough, she supposed, that she had spoken at all, but for her to speak so coherently and decisively, caught both of them completely off-guard.

Aqualad's hand came towards her. "She might have hit her head a little too—"

"Don't touch me!" she hissed, burrowing deeper into the cover of Robin's cape.

Her vehement tone surprised even her and she felt immediately ashamed. It became all too clear who had dug her out of the debris and brought her out of the water. She remembered his voice swimming in her mind as she lay tangled in the garbage, pleading for her to hold on. He had saved her, and she repaid his valor with spite.

Feeling the blood rush to her face, she hastily apologized. "Oh, I am sorry! I did not mean… I am so very sorry…"

The astonishment on his face melted away and the calm demeanor flowed back into place. "Don't worry about it. Just relax. We're just glad you made it."

Robin nodded, his grip on her shoulder tightening momentarily. It eased and the subtle caress of his fingers came, hidden beneath his cloak. "Starfire, you need immediate medical attention. Your arms need treatment and I'd feel better if you got tetanus shots."

Vaguely, she remembered a name in her mind. She spoke it without thinking. "Maxwell…"

"We'll worry about that after the doctors see you."

The compulsion to resist was so strong that she began to shiver again as she pushed the feeling back. She closed her eyes, willing herself to calm down. She told herself that seeing a doctor would be reasonable under the circumstances; that Robin was only worried for her; that Aqualad was only concerned; that the rest of the Titans would drag her, kicking and screaming, to the emergency room if they had been there.

Starfire found the sense to ask herself why the thought of going to the doctor was so repulsive.

_Everyone is a stranger. Even the ones you know are strangers._

The realization came to her almost immediately. The shock of her meeting with Xyannis had shaken many of her beliefs, and her trust took the worst of the beating.

She had no doubt that the feeling would fade; it was not her nature to be so guarded, but it was comparable to being in the water for hours and feeling the rippling sensation long after returning to land.

"We could ride to the hospital on the R-Cycle," she managed to say. She felt too weary; too ill used for flight.

Aqualad looked doubtful, looking up at Robin. "Is that wise? Starfire may have other injuries we don't know about."

She tensed. She wanted to say that other than the burns on her arms, she was alright; that there was nothing else wrong with her, but that would be telling Aqualad off again. She had been ungrateful enough. He was only watching out for her.

Starfire then resigned herself to being brought to the hospital in an ambulance.

Robin was particular about a lot of things, and usually with good reason, too. She thought this was one instance where reasoning would apply, so she was greatly surprised to see him hesitate.

He stroked the back of her head with affectionate care. "She'll be fine. I just need to get her bandaged up a bit."

"Need help?"

"Yeah." Robin tossed him a roll of dry gauze from his utility belt.

Starfire was a bit too tired to protest their talking about her as if she wasn't there.

They wrapped both her arms in non-stick bandages, but Starfire saw that her injuries were not all that severe. She took the time they administered to her to give her situation more thought.

Glancing briefly at Robin, it occurred to her that she might have to tell him everything.

She grew even wearier. When were the sad, disturbing stories going to end? She'd had enough of her own tragedies; she didn't want to have to burden others with it. Was it absolutely necessary to let him know the details? She could tell Robin she knew the woman; tell him the woman's name was Xyannis, and knowing Robin, he would remember the name from conversations past; would recognize the name as the woman who took care of Starfire while she was a slave. Robin remembered details like that; he was brilliant that way.

After she'd given him that information, maybe she could tell him more of what she had learned concerning Xyannis' part in all of it. The information wasn't much; she and Xyannis had been too busy coming to grips with seeing one another to discuss important matters like where Blackfire's base was, _what_ exactly were they doing or _why _Xyannis and Blackfire were doing it. She might have gleaned Xyannis' reasons, but she had little clue about what drove Blackfire. She and her sister had grown out of each other's confidence so long ago that Starfire was never sure what to think anymore.

Whatever she was willing to tell Robin, she could skip the drama behind it. It was largely unnecessary to the case, anyway. She knew Xyannis; Xyannis is one of the bad guys now; end of story.

When they were done bandaging her arms, she felt more like herself, but not by much. Though Robin helped her to her feet, she didn't have to rely on him so much to find the strength in her legs.

Aqualad gave a nod. "I'll head off here. I have some investigating to do in these waters and I'll radio you guys if I find anything."

"We'll be leaving for Jump City tomorrow," said Robin. "So you might be the only Bludhaven connection we'll have from hereon, but with Maxwell Victoria being transported, I don't think we'll have that much going down here anymore. We'll see."

Starfire deferred from mentioning that Batman would be lurking the shadows, instead, she stepped towards Aqualad and managed a smile. "Aqualad, I thank you. You saved my life."

For the first time, Aqualad didn't look as composed as he usually was. "I just did what I had to."

She shrugged. "I will not forget it."

"Neither will I," said Robin from behind her.

Aqualad stared at them a moment before he smiled placidly. "I owe you guys far too much to be holding you to things like this. I'll talk to you guys later."

Before they could respond, Aqualad took off, jumping back into the sea.

She watched the water briefly before turning to face Robin.

He sighed, sounding more relieved than anything. With what looked like weary steps, he held her gently by the shoulders as he stared into her eyes. His eyebrow arched in his signature way, except the tone he spoke with was wrought with concern, gone of his usual gruffness. "You'd tell me if you were hurting somewhere else, wouldn't you?"

She felt somewhat guilty having decided that she wouldn't be telling him her feelings about Xyannis, for it was that which hurt her most of all, but he hadn't a clue about that part of the events; she knew he was only asking about her physical well-being. "I am fine," she answered, her tone somewhat subdued.

He looked as if he was going to say something else, but it seemed he gave it up. "We'll talk later. Let's get you to an ER first. I don't want your burns getting infected. Does it hurt so much? I have some morphine, but I really don't like administering it unless it's totally necessary."

She smiled. "It is not necessary."

"At any rate, I was thinking I should just get the R-Cycle on the back of the woman's pick-up truck. We'll use the truck to drive us to the ER so you don't get your burns aggravated. I hope she put gas in that thing."

"The R-Cycle will be fine."

He cocked a tired smiled. "Don't argue. Just get in the truck."

She considered being stubborn, but she gave in, drained as she was physically and emotionally. Robin walked her to the truck and actually opened the passenger door for her. She arched an eyebrow. "I am capable of getting into the truck by myself, Robin."

His only reply was another wearied grin. She stepped into the passenger's seat and carefully, he shut the door.

As she waited in the truck, Robin attended to the R-Cycle. She considered offering help since she could easily lift the vehicle and mount it on the truck, but the look on Robin's face was troubled. He was deep in thought; she could tell by the slight crinkle in his brow. She let him move the R-Cycle by himself.

Minutes later, with the cycle secured to the back by utility ropes, Robin drove the battered white pick-up truck to the nearest emergency room. Never mind how strange it looked that two superheroes, known to be equipped with state-of-the-art weapons and machinery, arrived in a clunky old truck that sputtered and clanged.

The doctors and nurses stared in awe as Starfire emerged from the truck with Robin appearing from the other side. His quiet request for the doctor to see to her was met with a placid nod, a kind smile and a softly spoken order for Starfire to settle in one of the curtained booths.

When the doctor closed her into the booth, she felt isolated, more alone than ever; more alone than knowing Robin was in Jump City while she was in Gotham. She was conscious of the fact that Robin remained beyond her sight. She wished she could call him in, but she wasn't certain if he didn't want to be alone, either. He had seemed so closed in, so bothered, between Langley Point and the hospital; and especially because she knew she wasn't in the right frame of mind to help him cope, she hadn't asked him about it.

There was something about that night that separated her, as if something had changed. She didn't like the feeling; she did not like having such conflicting, undecipherable emotions. She was a creature of sensibilities. She was attuned to what she felt: Warmth was comfort, cool was soothing, black is dark, white is light. But not tonight; tonight it was as if there was all this gray, and she couldn't see through the thickness of it.

She wished she was dreaming; wished it was all a nightmare so she could simply wake up and leave it all behind.

88888888888888888888

By the time the doctors finished treating her, she felt much stronger. As she stepped out of the hospital doors with Robin, she immediately flew over to the truck and removed the R-Cycle from the cargo carriage. Robin's protests came immediately, but she managed to assuage him, giggling about how awful the pick-up truck looked anyway.

He agreed, but only after he made her promise that she would tell him if she felt tired or weakened. It was a promise she was only too glad to make.

"Shall we go back to the police station?" asked Starfire.

Robin shook his head. "No one's coming back to get Victoria tonight. They don't know that Victoria's going to be transported out of here tomorrow morning. The greedy bastard Soames didn't feel it profitable enough information to divulge, and with the fuss you caused tonight, they'd want to stay clear until they could be sure we aren't here to stop them. Besides, I don't think they want to call attention to the fact that aliens are kidnapping Earth scientists to make weapons for them. If Blackfire doesn't think much about us, she might be thinking twice about provoking _other _superheroes."

Starfire understood. She grinned. "Furthermore, we have their truck!"

He chuckled softly. "There's that."

They set off back to Gotham. It was a somewhat long way, but they arrived at the Bat Cave in good time. Batman was not back from his rounds. Instinctively, they made for their respective lockers and shower rooms. Perhaps it was the remembrance of the grime floating in the Bludhaven waters.

Starfire, but for her burns, was relieved to wash off traces of that night. When she emerged from the locker rooms, Robin was already settling in front of the computer panel. He wore regular clothes, but his mask remained. She made no remark about it, but she knew it meant he wanted to hide something; if not from her then from the others. Starfire joined him on the panel and they worked together.

They made preparations on the Bat Computer to communicate with the other Titans, but as Starfire turned the switches, she could not ignore the weighted silence that suddenly fell. She looked up, only to find Robin staring at her apprehensively.

"What is it?" she asked.

He fidgeted uneasily on his seat, as if trying to find the words. "When I saw you go after that craft, I had this really bad feeling in my gut. I'm not superstitious, and I believe I'm only as intuitive as my knowledge allows me to be, but I didn't want you getting near that ship. I was yelling for you to let the craft go, but you were too far away and you couldn't hear me."

Starfire stared at him a moment. He didn't sound like he was scolding her. It sounded more like he was just really talking; making his feelings known.

Robin did that sometimes, but rarely in such an emotional way. It wasn't so much his manner or tone, but in the words he used. There were too many _I'_s this time; it was intensely personal.

Starfire listened.

"When you disappeared into the water and didn't come up—" His lip twitched. His hand came up to wipe an invisible bead of sweat from his brow; or maybe a speck of sand that had escaped the bath water; only he knew. "For the first time in my life I—I just didn't know what to do. I was standing there consciously thinking 'What do I do?' When I ran into the water I knew right then that there was _nothing _I could do to get to you on time. I couldn't even fight past the waves… I didn't even know where you were. You know how they say time flies when you're having fun? Well, things were suddenly happening very, very slowly." He fell silent, but it didn't look like he was through. He expelled a breath. "I don't know how long it took but I saw Aqualad and he was swimming you to shore with him. When we got you on land and you weren't breathing, I had to tell myself, out loud, that I had to give you CPR. I was spazzing out in front of Aqualad but who the hell cared at that point?"

She didn't know what to say, exactly. She flashed him an apologetic and somewhat embarrassed smile. "I am alive. It is alright now."

"I'm grateful for that. But if Aqualad hadn't been there… well, I don't know if I even want to think about that." He turned away from her, fiddling with a dial on the panel absently. "Aqualad saved two lives out there tonight."

She reached for his hand, perhaps to steady his fidgeting. "It will not happen again. Next time I will be more careful."

He chuckled wanly. "I used to say the same thing to Batman whenever he got on my case; I never did learn to keep that promise."

Again, she gave him an apologetic smile. She wasn't sure if she could keep her promise either.

"Still, it behooves me to admit that Ol' Bats was right about one thing."

"And what is that?"

"You _have _becomemy weakness. You probably always were."

The light from her eyes faded. He sounded so serious; so final that she could not help but look grim. "What are you saying, Robin?" A sudden thought caused her to grow pale. "You are not—are you breaking up with me?"

"No," he said immediately, turning his hand over so he could grip hers. "It's nothing like that. Besides, even if I broke up with you, it's not like my feelings end with the relationship."

She was greatly relieved. "Then you must learn to trust that I could take care of myself."

He cocked a smile. "Well… yeah. I suppose I could get kind of neurotic when it comes to protecting you, but you have to admit that I do trust you often enough. It usually happens when I get into the swing of things; when there's no room to feel. When time is only enough for thinking."

She nodded, acknowledging the fact.

"Of course, it's still an ever present instinct to care about what happens to you out there; we all care about each other. You, me, BB, Cy… and we all know even Raven cares; she just doesn't want to show it."

She couldn't help a small giggle.

He continued. "We watch each others' backs because that's what a team does, but I sent you ahead to catch that woman, didn't I? I do trust you. What I'm saying is: when something happens to you, I fall apart… and I just don't know what to do about that." He looked dismayed. "I don't even know why I'm talking about this. We fight bad guys; we fight monsters and chase spacecrafts and leap off buildings… things like this will happen. . There's nothing you, me or the others could do about it. But I just thought you should know… you know?" After a moment, he ran his hand through his hair and expelled another breath through his lips.

Starfire observed him a moment. He was never one to be open about his feelings, but nevertheless, venting seemed as good for him as it was for everyone else. He looked as if a weight had been removed from his shoulders and the lines on his face lessened a bit as he turned his attention back to the computer panel.

She could tell his focus was returning, the way his fingers began to fly over the keyboard, but he had a few more words to say to her. He shook his head, a small, lopsided smile, almost of disbelief, forming on his lips. "You see what you do to me? I've lost all sense of reason. Anyway, I guess if I could explain it, there must be something wrong."

She arched an eyebrow, amused, but also curious. "And what do you mean by that?"

"A friend of mine—Italian dude; a romantic—has a saying: _L'amore domina senza regole."_

Starfire did not know Italian yet. "Please translate."

"Love rules without rules."

She couldn't help but lean over to give him a heartfelt kiss on the cheek. He returned the gesture with a gentle caress on her arm before going back to work.

Starfire sat back on her chair, waiting for the Titans to come on screen.

A moment later, Cyborg, Raven and Beast Boy were up on the monitor.

"Did you find anything on the radars?" Robin asked.

Cyborg shook his head. "Nothing yet, but we've printed out the readings, past and present. We're reviewing them. The work's boring as hell, but we're not about to give it up."

"Good to hear. Anyway, we'll be back there soon to help. Anything else?"

Beast Boy scowled. "I _still_ think they're using tractor beams."

Cyborg rolled his good eye. "Okay, BB, it didn't sound feasible the first one hundred times you said it."

"You have a better idea?"

Raven's upside-down smile curved even lower. "Yes. Shut up."

"My genius is _so _not appreciated."

"There's no such thing as a Nobel Dumb Prize."

"Fine, but don't say I didn't warn you if monster aliens abduct you and probe you in the—"

Robin stepped in before it got ugly. "Alright, everyone knock it off. We have more important things to talk about. Starfire was the only one who got an ID on the woman we were chasing—"

"It wasn't Blackfire?" asked Cyborg.

Starfire answered. "No, it was not."

A flash of excitement lit Cyborg's face. "Perfect time to test my new software! I've got this awesome program where we could construct a composite image of the suspect—"

"I know her."

Everyone fell silent.

Of course, Robin was the first to recover. "Well, who is she, then?"

"Xyannis. Someone I knew from long ago. Before tonight, I have not seen her for seven years."

The others pondered the matter with mild surprise, but Robin became deeply pensive. No doubt, he was searching back in his memories, the name having struck him as familiar. Moments later, something akin to realization came to him. He flashed Starfire a look then it was gone. He showed no indication that he remembered much of Starfire's relationship with Xyannis; at least not in front of everyone.

"She joins Blackfire in leading what I think is a revolt against the kingdoms of the Vegan star system," continued Starfire.

Cyborg's robotic eye flashed. "That's where your planet is, Star. That's terrible!"

"I have warned them before and I will warn them again. That is enough," she replied. She hastily went on. "She was not able to tell me much, but I did see the underwater craft. It is perfectly streamlined, has a superb cloaking mechanism, its force field has a complex protection system and it is fast. It was fast enough to literally disappear in a blink of an eye underwater. I do not know if that means it could go even faster on land."

"Damn," breathed Cyborg. "That's _fast. _Could you tell what direction it took?"

Starfire shook her head. "At first it was north, but that could have changed. I was too preoccupied to see. Aqualad may have—"

"Aqualad?" asked Raven.

Starfire bit down on her lower lip to keep from grinning. "Yes. I think he was there just in time to see the direction the craft took when its turbo jets charged. He might have had a better idea of the craft's course _and_ he could follow its underwater trail better than any of us."

Raven's eyes narrowed. "So you got there before Aqualad?"

"Wow, Raven," said Cyborg. "You're really interested in Aqualad, aren't you?" He said it like a bad actor would on stage; mocking, the way he intended.

Raven ignored him. "Starfire?"

Starfire had a feeling Raven wasn't as interested in Aqualad as Cyborg thought. "I was there before Aqualad."

Raven flashed a disapproving frown. "Those bandages on your arms; you got hurt chasing after that craft, didn't you? You got too close. You know too much about its force field's systems to have learned what you know from afar. Was it the force fields that caused the injuries? Or maybe it was the turbo engines. That was careless, Starfire. It's foolish of you to risk so much."

Starfire was about to make a reply when Robin answered for her. "Hey, back off. She's had enough for tonight."

His reaction surprised everyone. Robin was usually the first to scold someone for being careless, particularly when it was Starfire, but for him to tell Raven to leave Starfire alone concerning the issue was somewhat strange. Raven was the first to voice her suspicion.

"I'm getting strange vibes from you, Robin. _Something happened._ Tell us what it is."

Starfire waited for Robin to do the talking. She may have been the one directly involved, but it was he who got most affected by it. Xyannis was her story; _this _was _his. _

Robin's face grew terribly impassive, but he did not hesitate to speak. It was one thing being emotional in front of Starfire, but it wouldn't do in front of the others. "It's all past now. The danger's done."

_"Tell us."_

His expressionless face tautened to a frown. "Starfire almost drowned. Aqualad rescued her and brought her to shore. She wasn't breathing. But we revived her and I got her to the nearest ER. It's alright now."

Beast Boy and Cyborg gasped in horror. Raven shimmered for a moment before she settled back to her usual dark aura.

Brows creased, Cyborg found his senses first. _"Damn,_ girl! You okay?"

Starfire mustered a bright smile for them. "I am perfectly healthy, Cyborg. I thank you for asking."

"This is awful!" Beast Boy cried. "You can't go around drowning on us, Star! If something happened to you, who would laugh at my jokes? Who would eat my super-weird ice-cream sundae combos with me? Who would _scratch behind_ _my ears?" _He gave a whine and sounded seriously distressed.

Robin's eyebrow arched, leaning a bit towards Starfire to speak to her in a low, confidential tone. "Okay, Starfire, I think BB's getting a _little too needy _of _my_ girlfriend. We have to talk about this…"

Starfire cringed. "Very well."

That settled, Robin turned to the meeting again. "Calm down, BB. Starfire's fine now. Raven, you could chew my head off later for letting her go alone. What's important—"

"So Aqualad saved you, huh?" interrupted Cyborg, grinning at Starfire. "Did he give you mouth to mouth?"

Starfire reddened. "I cannot be sure…"

Robin didn't seem too pleased by it. "What kind of a question is that? It was an emergency."

Cyborg shrugged. "So who did it?"

Robin angled his gaze towards Raven, as if to visually imply that he wasn't going to answer Cyborg's question. "Here's the thing: the priority is to make sure they don't get Maxwell back. I doubt they'll be making any attempts tomorrow while Maxwell's in transit; they don't want to cause a fuss anymore than we want them to. Raven, see if you can find out Maxwell Victoria's arraignment schedule. That's when we'll know whether or not the judge sets bail for him."

"I doubt he gets bail. Charges are too serious," said Raven.

Robin nodded in agreement. "We're going to have to set up a surveillance system for Victoria if he's going to be living in the Jump City Prison."

"Dude, seriously," said Beast Boy. "Their security system sucks. The crooks always manage to escape! What is _up _with that?"

Robin cocked a grin. "Well, whether or not Victoria manages to stay in jail works for us. If they don't bust him out, the law will take care of him. If they come for him, we just might find out where this 'base' is."

"Does that mean we're going to outer space, the final frontier? Do we have to fight aliens with mind melding powers? Does it mean I'll get to hear Robin say, 'Make it so,' or 'Engage!'?"

Raven raised an eyebrow. "You've been watching Star Trek again." It wasn't a question.

"How'd you know?"

"Lucky guess."

Robin sighed, steering the discussion to more pertinent matters.

Starfire could actually tell from his tone that he was bone tired. She had seen him exert more effort on other missions and he hadn't looked half as exhausted then as he did now. It must have been the emotional drain. Feelings of helplessness and the underlying sense of loss had sapped him of strength. She looked at him anxiously. Her Boy Wonder hadn't felt helplessness and loss in a _long _time.

Robin went on to speak of other miscellaneous matters. Shortly after, he wrapped the discussion up, reminding Cyborg of their estimated time of arrival in Jump City the following morning.

Having confirmed the details, they all signed off.

They powered the computer down and headed back into the house.

Robin and Starfire walked in silence through the mansion and somewhere along the way, he peeled off his mask with a weary sigh. Her casual glance found him looking at the mask momentarily before he put it away. She was worried about him; he needed comforting for his battered emotions, but would he be willing to let her help him?

Shoving his hands into his pockets, he brooded to himself.

As they turned the hallway to the chambers, Starfire nudged Robin gently.

Robin arched an eyebrow, tilting his head slightly to look at her.

"So," she said. "Who _did _give me mouth to mouth?"

He chuckled, returning his gaze to the path before them as he nodded a few times, as if to say he completely understood what was so intriguing about the question, and that it amused him, in spite of himself. "Who do you think? Me, of course. Aqualad ain't getting near _my _girlfriend."

Starfire laughed, glad that she could at least get him to smile. She let her laughter dwindle. She reached up, letting her fingers play on his spiky hair. "I am sorry I gave you such cause for… worry." She knew how much of an understatement "worry" was, but Robin would prefer it to "terror" or "fear". She understood him, after all.

He looked at her, his smile wilting at his own exhaustion. They slowed to a stop and he touched her face lightly with his fingers.

She put her arms around him, offering him comfort, and while she felt him tense for a few seconds, he soon relaxed in her arms, enveloping her in his own embrace. He sighed into her hair. They held one another for several seconds.

Starfire made a motion to look up at his face, her nose tracing the line of his throat, and then his chin. She had a sudden urge to kiss him, and she would have, if he hadn't slid his hand to the nape of her neck, turning her head ever so slightly to the side.

Putting his lips to her ear, he spoke in a low murmur. "You're here. That's all that matters."

She closed her eyes at the soft brush of his breath running down her neck. She had already forgotten exactly what he was replying to. She could vaguely recall that it had to do with something she said a few seconds ago, but it was difficult to remember exactly what in the face of such intimacy.

The sensation of his soft silken lips pressing gently upon hers sent a pleasant shudder through her. He followed it with the slow, rhythmic stroking of his tongue while the embrace of his arms tightened. She could have melted to nothing.

In the next few seconds, his touch would gain a near breathtaking intensity and then just as suddenly ease, as if he wished for the thrill of the surge, or maybe he just couldn't help wanting more in spite of straining to prolong things.

Overwhelming as his ministrations were, she was aware of what he needed that night. He needed assurances that she _was _there; breathing against him, responding with scalding passion, feeling _with _him. He needed her to make him forget that he had even felt lost and abandoned. She would give him what he needed.

She moved back and he moved forward in response; he didn't want to break contact. He needed her kiss too badly. She pulled him with her. The wall behind her practically knocked her breath out of her, but she didn't care; her own need had gained a foothold. She reached blindly for the doorknob to her side, never minding whose room it was. The door fell open and she pulled him with her. He followed her willingly, allowing himself to drown in her embrace.

He had breathed life back into her; it was her turn to breathe life back into him.

888888888888888888

Robin was still sound asleep when she woke, light from the sunrise creeping through the cracks in the curtain. She had found herself lying on her chest, her arms folded snuggly against her as she blinked herself slowly awake. The blanket on her back kept the cold away, but the well of warmth from Robin's hand, resting against the small of her back, gave her that wonderful feeling of security she always felt when he was near.

He had shifted without waking; so deep was his sleep. He moved closer to her on his side, half-draping himself on her, then he settled back down into a steady breathing. She had done nothing but stare at him for several moments, thinking about how passionate he had been just hours ago.

His hands had held firmer, his kisses had gone deeper, his touch much more intense. The memory of his fingers sliding down her back still sent a pleasant shudder through her body and the mere remembrance of where his lips had traveled made her blush to her toes.

She had let him sleep for a while longer, just because she liked to bask in their closeness as she savored what they had shared.

Of course, she had to wake him up some time. While the BW Jet wouldn't leave without them, she surmised that Alfred would be terribly annoyed if they were late. So reluctantly, she had gently shaken Robin awake.

Seeing the time, Robin practically stumbled off the bed in his hurry to shake sleep from himself. It did not help in the least that the chamber they were in belonged to neither of them.

Lazy mornings and slight mishaps aside, they were able to get ready on time, and with a quickly eaten breakfast of oatmeal cooked in milk and flavored with cinnamon, dates and walnuts, they found themselves on their way to the airport barely thirty minutes from the time they got out of bed.

Now, sitting placidly in the plane, Starfire stared out of the window in pensive silence, thinking about her past once more. She hated that she was being forced to look backwards because of what was happening in the present. It almost made her feel resentful. She had thought putting twenty-six light years between herself and her past would be enough for it to go away; but she supposed whoever said that the past was fast enough to catch up on anyone knew what he was talking about. She couldn't even get running away right. What was wrong with her?

"Starfire."

She looked at Robin, who had spoken.

His mask, cold and anonymous, told nothing of the caring person underneath it. "We need to talk." He said softly.

She smiled wanly, nodding. "You must not get mad at Beast Boy when he gets _needy. _He likes my gentle attentions. I think maybe he just gets weary of videoed games with Cyborg and Raven not laughing at his jokes."

Robin shook his head. "Not about that…" He did a double take. "Do _you _laugh at his jokes?

"Well, no, but it is not because I do not think he is funny, but because I do not get the line that was punched. And let us not even begin with the chicken jokes. Why does the chicken cross the road? Please, what is so important about the chicken in the first place?"

He paused a moment; perhaps he was actually trying to think of an answer, but another heartbeat later, he blinked and shook his head. "Nothing's important about the chicken… listen, that's not what I wanted to talk about with you. Let's go to the back for some privacy."

The "back" was where the chess table was, and it was relatively isolated from the prying ears of curious flight attendants.

Slightly confused, she followed him.

They passed Alfred who exchanged looks with Robin and her. Alfred would make sure they weren't disturbed.

When they were seated across from each other, the checkered board between them, he reached for her hand in a supportive gesture. "Xyannis was your friend."

It surprised her, but only for a moment. Of course she knew he would remember who Xyannis was, but she hadn't expected that he would think Xyannis special enough to her to warrant a private discussion about it. Certainly, apart from the time she told him her history, she had made no more mention of Xyannis. How could he know Xyannis was important enough to her to be talked about?

She hesitated in her response, unconsciously pulling her hand away. His grip tightened, eyebrow rising slightly.

"Easy…" he said in a soothing tone. "You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to, but I know it's troubling you. You know you could tell me anything, Kori. I'll listen."

She hadn't meant to resist. It was just instinctive, she supposed, that whenever her past came bubbling to the surface, she would always flinch away first. "She is still—" She breathed deeply, reorganizing her thoughts. "She was someone I knew."

"She was someone who looked out for you while you were enslaved together. How long were you with her before your father tried to take you back?"

"Almost an Earth year."

He paused a moment, as if letting her figure out _why _he didn't believe her when she said Xyannis was just someone she "knew." "Kori… I remember the first time you stayed with us. A week with us in the tower and you were kicking super villain butt because you didn't like that they were attacking me, Beast Boy, Raven and Cyborg. You could get attached real quick when you want to."

She couldn't deny it and his words unleashed her emotions. She hadn't even known she was suppressing her hurt and anger, but she supposed she hadn't had time to think about it until now. Her eyes began to sting, and try as she might to hold them back, the tears came unbidden. They fell down her cheeks and she had to fight the sob rising in her throat. The sob came and she tried to muffle it. Her efforts kept back the worse of it, but she could not stop the tears.

His hand was on her shoulder, gripping it comfortingly. He gave her a tissue; they were everywhere in the plane, and she used it to dry her tears.

"It's going to be okay," he said softly.

She shook her head. This time, she could not accept his soothing words. "It will not be okay. She takes Blackfire's side in this, yet… her convictions are pure; unselfish. She believes in what she is doing, much like I believe in our cause.

"I cannot say Blackfire is to blame for all of it. Even when it was just Xyannis and I, even when she cared for me like she would a sister, I caught glimpses of her bitterness; how wronged she felt. The first time she spoke of her parents, she hadn't even mentioned _them; _she had done it indirectly, while speaking of myfather. She had asked me whether my father had told me that I had to give myself over to slavery for my people, to convince me to go willingly. I hadn't thought it at the time, but now I knowshe wasn't just speaking of my father, but everyone's; hers especially. At first, I thought it was because she despised sacrificing herself for her people. It seemed that way, but I now I know I had misunderstood. After being with her, knowing her… she was not a selfish person, Robin. She would bear pain for others. She would risk the wrath of masters to tend to me and the others when we were… sick. It was only last night I realized what she resented her father and the other kingdoms of Vega for. She resented them because she thought it weak of them to give up their children and kingdoms without a fight; a travesty to the pride of Vegan races everywhere; because they gave in to Citadellian-Gordanian rule. She resented Vegan rulers because they allowed the Citadellians and the Gordanians to overrun us all. The second time she spoke of her parents, it was before I left Gordane. She said that if I made it out of the planet Karna alive, I must go to her parents and tell them she was dead; tell them I saw her die and that they must not hope to find her again. I went to Kalapatt, and I tried to tell them, but I could _not. _I could not lie to them. They were kind to me. They cared for me. How am I supposed to eat their food, wear their clothes, sleep in their castle and then blatantly lie about the daughter they still hoped to find? Anyway, I suppose that meant she had the predisposition to take up a cause that Blackfire would only be too eager to incite. You know Blackfire's talents, Robin. She drips with charisma and charm; she could tell you things you want to hear and given enough time, she could probably make people do things to serve her interests."

Robin nodded in agreement.

"I do hurt, and I _am _angry, but I am also _so confused. _Is she the enemy? I _simply cannot _fight her the way I would settle matters with Blackfire. What is even more absurd is that for all the things Blackfire has done… I know what she does is wrong, and I believe that she does things for her own, selfish reasons, but it was—it was my parents that built that monster, Robin. I want to stop her, but I could not hate her."

"Kori… _Starfire, _listen to me. Xyannis and Blackfire, with what they're doing, have killed and hurt many people."

She nodded, dabbing her eyes with the tissue. "Oh, I _know, _but Blackfire is my _sister, _and Xyannis _isn't _like_—_she cannot be like Blackfire. Shetook care of me, and she was nurturing and _so kind. _She—" _bore the painful whipping meant only for me _"—held me in her arms when things were too difficult to bear. Do you understand, Robin? How does one fight someone like that? How does one fight _sisters?" _She had made no mistake in syntax. Blackfire was bound to her by blood; Xyannis was bound to her by spirit. _They were both her sisters._

His brows knotted. After a moment, he sighed. "I don't know, Starfire. I don't know. But we can't—we can't let people get hurt."

"Blackfire sent her. Blackfire knew how much my seeing Xyannis working with her would weaken me."

"You can't be weak, Starfire."

"I tried so very hard not to be weak. Last night, I _tried. _But the moment I shed Xyannis' blood, I couldn't take it. There was this hollow dread in the pit of my stomach, and it just felt worse when she did not fight back. She just fled, Robin. She could not get away _from me _fast enough. Whatever happened to me after she secured herself in that ship was my own doing."

Robin flinched ever so slightly. However well she had tended to _his _wounds, it was still raw, and while she was concerned about his feelings on the matter, she had much more to tell him.

"We talked, she and I," continued Starfire. "Before she got into her craft, she told me things; things that actually made me _understand _what she thought so awful about our Kings and Queens. It was so surreal… she spoke of names I knew from seven years ago, and I remembered the faces of those who owned those namesI _had_ to listen, and the longer I did, the more it shook me, and it was like everything I believed in suddenly shifted to the middle and I could not decipher right from wrong. At the end of it all, she spoke of me and my parents, about how _I _resented them for exchanging me and Blackfire; how I had _not_ gone back to Tamaran. If she knew that I refused to go back not only because I resented them but also because I was afraid Ryand'r would be in danger of being exchanged as well, it would have only made her words more significant. I am trying to block her words from my mind, but how could I? One cannot _un-_hear things." She sighed miserably, slumping in her seat. "Perhaps," she muttered with bitter humor "if someone were to hit me over the head hard enough, I could forget all this and be happier for it."

Robin cocked a sympathetic smile. "Kori, _most _things aren't just black or white. If that were the case, many things would be a hell of a lot easier, but it's not always like ordering in Starbucks and knowing you want a tall cappuccino, decaf with non-fat milk and a biscotti on the side. Things are almost always in the gray area."

"Then how does one cope?"

"It's not easy," he admitted. "I don't get it right all the time either. Remember Red X?"

She did, and she understood how even Robin struggled with his decisions, sometimes.

"It took a while for me to figure it out, but I figured it out anyway. So long as you want to do the right thing, you'll find the answers."

Starfire let her eyes wander to the window again. There was nothing but puffy whiteness beneath them; nothing broke through the clouds. She leaned over, folding her arms on the chessboard. Wearily, she laid her cheek on her forearms, her eyes trained to the blueness outside. "What will happen now, Robin?"

"We wait for them to make the next move to retrieve Maxwell Victoria, and while we're waiting, we work with what we've got. Aqualad's bound to find something out, and Cyborg's keeping close tabs on the radar readings."

"Do you think we will see Xyannis or Blackfire again?"

"If we're lucky."

She sighed. "I am sorry Robin, but for once, I do not share your sentiments."

88888888888888888888

Starfire found that she had missed her dearest friends, being away from them for so long. Cyborg had been in dire danger of being dented in places after Starfire was done with her enthusiastic greetings, and when arriving at the tower, Beast Boy and Raven met the new arrivals at the door, she swept into their arms. If Beast Boy hadn't transformed himself into a Grizzly bear at the last second, all three of them would have tumbled back into a boneless heap. As it was, Raven was glowering, slightly annoyed that she had to be in a "group hug".

"Do I _look _like I _kumbaya?"_ she had asked during one of her worse moods.

After tolerating the group hug for about three seconds, Raven promptly peeled Starfire off her with her powers, saying. "Glad you're back. It's your turn to walk the dog." She drifted to the corner after that, getting the newspaper and hiding behind it.

Hardly anyone took Raven's aloof manner to heart; they had known her long enough to understand that whatever physical boundaries Raven put between herself and the rest of them, she actually cared for them in her own, dark way.

Of course, "walking the dog" meant paying attention to Beast Boy. Starfire supposed that while she was away, Raven had _somehow _offered Beast Boy company where Starfire usually spent it with him. Starfire knew Raven wasn't the most patient when it came to Beast Boy, but Starfire had remembered her saying once, some time after Starfire's accident, that Beast Boy wasn't as stupid as he pretended he was. That didn't mean Raven stopped getting annoyed with the resident shapechanger, just that she knew better now, and it made him less prone to her sarcastic wit. Some days however, Starfire believed that the knowledge only served to annoy Raven even more, particularly when Beast Boy said the silliest things to get a laugh, or to get attention.

"Why does he do that? I would _never_ pretend I was stupid," Raven had said.

Starfire didn't doubt Raven's conviction on that respect.

Beast Boy retransformed himself to human and grinned at Starfire. "Coming home presents?"

She grinned back. "They are in my bag."

Robin, true to form, was all business. "Starfire could giver her presents later. We have stuff to do. Cyborg, what's on your agenda for today?"

"I'm still trying to figure something out with the radar readings. I'm trying every possible angle and I'm counting on Beast Boy to come up with something zany enough that he just might hit the nail."

Raven looked up from her paper. "I knew we were desperate, but…"

Beast Boy crossed his arms over his chest and lifted his nose at Raven. "You're just jealous because I'm imaginative."

"I was thinking more along the lines of delusional…"

Robin grinned. "Actually, I think Cyborg may be on to something."

Raven arched an eyebrow. "I suppose at this point there's nowhere to go but up."

Robin chuckled. "We'll all work on trying to find something out. It'll be a good way to kill time while we wait for Maxwell Victoria's plane to come in."

"We're all set up in the Info Center," said Cyborg. "And we've got breakfast pizza to boot."

Starfire's brows knotted. "Please, what is breakfast pizza?" She wondered if it meant the pizza's toppings would be pancake and eggs. Perhaps with a little syrup, it will not seem so bad…

"Leftovers from last night's pizza, refrigerated."

"Oh." _She _called it Pizza with Grease Frozen Over.

They made their way to the Info Center with Robin discussing several possibilities with Beast Boy. It was a bit surprising to see Robin so interested in Beast Boy's ideas, and Robin certainly wasn't one to indulge the shapechanger for the sake of being kind. Not that Robin wasn't kind; just that he didn't like wasting time.

Starfire hardly ever doubted Robin's instincts, so she let Beast Boy and Robin talk. Their leader, whatever his reasons, was almost always right anyway.

When they arrived at the Info Center, Beast Boy scampered off to his workstation, promising that he would be thinking up more theories in another few minutes. Robin then turned his attentions to Raven.

"Raven, I'm putting you in charge of coordinating with Aqualad."

Raven stood unmoving for a few seconds, her facial expression more unreadable than ever. "Fine." She drifted to her workstation.

Cyborg leaned over Robin. "That was brilliant, Rob."

Starfire stifled a giggle. Raven would _surely _keep them up to date of Aqualad's progress.

Robin jerked an eyebrow in agreement, cocking a satisfied smirk as he walked to his own work panel. "I know. You and Starfire; with me."

Cyborg draped an affectionate arm over Starfire as they walked. "Girl, I was thinking, you really ought to _not_ do stuff like getting yourself drowned…"

Starfire gave a mild chuckle. "Believe me, Cyborg, it was not my intention."

"Eh, I know, but you have to be more careful. If something really, _really _bad happens to you—God forbid—we simply won't get over it. And let's not even go into how Robin'll feel. It'll _kill _him."

Starfire couldn't help let her eyes widen at the dire prediction.

"Cy," said Robin in a warning tone.

Cyborg waved him away. "Just that you've been really going out there lately, you know? The last time, you got into a really bad accident, and now this. It's starting to be a habit, and it's not a good habit. You diggin' me?"

Starfire paused. What was it about people on Earth and shoveling? "I think so," she replied.

"Good." He nodded, giving her a tight squeeze before letting her go, as if the matter had been settled.

Robin exchanged a glance with her, but it was hard to tell what it meant with the mask hiding his eyes.

Starfire often had to wonder what her friends meant when they said things. It was hard enough, unfamiliar as she sometimes was with the idioms and figures of speech, but when they weren't the type to come out and say things, she labored twice as hard to understand them.

Robin, for example, while often direct and precise, hardly ever used a tone equal to his emotions. He may say that he was sad, but he wouldn't sound like it at all. He may say he was amused, but he may or may not be smiling. She had learned how to interpret many of his moods, but sometimes, especially when he had the mask on, it was still difficult.

Beast Boy made jokes, and he laughed so much that it was hard to imagine that he felt negative emotions, like _anger, _and _betrayal. _But she knew he did, and perhaps someone else, maybe Terra, had seen it in its true form, but from what she had seen, he wore his own mask. He would laugh through his anger, even if his bitter humor was as telling as his jumping up and biting your nose off.

Raven was the worst, of course. While she felt emotions, she had the skill to let emotions melt off her, so that it appeared she felt nothing at all. If she _did _feel emotions, she was able to dispense it in controlled doses. It was as if she had it all in a pitcher, and she tilted the pitcher according to how much emotion she wanted to have pouring from the spout, whether it was a thick, plentiful flow or a small, steady trickle. Either way, she knew exactly what she was doing with those emotions; at least most of the time. There was no understanding Raven; she held the cards. She would let you understand when she wished it; closed you or everyone off when knowing what she felt was unnecessary.

Cyborg was, by far, the most laid-back of the group. He could be moody; he brooded; he could be absolutely chipper, and he didn't care who knew. But unlike Starfire, Cyborg was so much cooler about it. Where Starfire would be swooping around with glee, Cyborg would be grinning from the ground, chilling and telling everyone, "I feel good," without actually saying the words. So while emotions don't scare Cyborg, he kept things on the "down-low". Whether it was to make things comfortable for him or those around him, it was hard to say. Cyborg looked out for Beast Boy and Robin considered Cyborg his equal, but the big guy really didn't have a confidante, did he? It certainly wasn't Starfire.

She muddled over Cyborg's words while Robin exchanged notes with him.

The thing with Cyborg was that while his words were plain, he often meant so much more. Because he was "cool" or "chilled", he left it up to the listener to figure it out. Sometimes, he took the time to elaborate, but only when no one else was around. Starfire guessed that there would be no explaining this time.

She was beginning to get frustrated by all the deep thinking everyone was forcing her to do. Not that she preferred a mindless existence, but did they have to come to her all at once? Nobody should have to deal with so much emotional stress. Something had to give.

She reached for a frozen slice of pizza. It was good, in a gross, teenage-breakfast kind of way. Anything that could give a person acne almost always was.

Starfire sighed, munching on the stale pizza crust.

"Starfire?" It was Robin. "You okay?"

Robin and Cyborg were staring at her, anxiously awaiting her answer.

She managed to stretch her lips for a smile and nodded. "Oh, I am alright. I just spaced in for a while."

Robin chuckled. "Spaced _out."_

"Er—yes."

He gave her hand a quick squeeze before getting back in discussion with Cyborg. She had little choice. If she wanted to be useful, she would have to force herself to set her troubles aside.

She joined the conversation.

888888888888888888888

When Maxwell Victoria's plane came in, the Jump City Warden, an honest, honorable man, called Robin and informed him that the prisoner was secure.

The Warden never asked anything in return for such trifles as informing the Teen Titans that a bad-guy was safely locked in storage, which was why Robin felt a tad guilty tapping into the prison's security systems to be able to keep an eye on Maxwell Victoria. The arraignment had been undertaken almost as soon as Victoria arrived. It was official: Victoria wasn't going to get bailed.

It wasn't all that hard to implant the taps that would allow the Titans to watch Victoria from the tower.

Their first task was a 24-hour reconnaissance. Beast Boy and Starfire always worked best together when it came to such matters. Starfire's inherent ability to be inquisitive while looking positively harmless as she asked her questions always managed to get them answers. Her charm, especially with men, was received with great enthusiasm, especially in a place where women were scarce. Working alongside her in secret was Beast Boy, who would use his littlest animal forms to get into vents, pipes and holes in the walls. He listened to Starfire's conversations, following her as they gathered the information necessary to find out where Victoria would be detained and which hallways he was going to take to get from his cell to the visiting chambers. From the information Beast Boy and Starfire gathered, they would be able to figure out which camera-cable they had to tap and where the audio-taps would serve them best.

When the blueprints for the plan had been laid out, they needed to execute it. Robin played the thief best of all. At nightfall, where the shadows were darker and the guards' minds were clouded with lethargy, Robin would slip into the facility, placed the taps and then slip out unnoticed. The whole time, he had tech support connected to him by radio. With Raven and Cyborg working the control center, they stayed in contact with him, confirming whether Robin was tapping the correct cables, or whether the audios were working flawlessly.

The task took them no longer than a day and half. They were really good at what they did.

Should the taps be compromised, there was always the trusty self-destruct switch that could obliterate any trace of evidence.

Cyborg always said that if their superhero careers didn't pan out, they could always go into professional thievery.

The shifts they took for the Blackfire watch now included watching Victoria's daily life in prison. Three days into the watch, Beast Boy, Starfire and Cyborg had come up with a game. They would watch monitor H4 (short for Hallway Four), an oft-used passageway, and wait for whoever happened to pass it. If the person was in a suit, they could eat the red skittles (rare enough, and since red was a favorite, it was a treat), if the person was a guard, they would eat the yellow Skittles, and so on and so forth. The interesting part was when they came in pairs and/or mixed. Pairs and mixes allowed for the accomplishment of a particular task by a particular person. The tasks were menial and along such lines as getting up from one's seat to refill their glasses with pop or buying take out, or perhaps getting a particular magazine from someone's room.

Raven often found herself joining in with affected reluctance, mainly because she was a closet Skittles whore. Why she did not want anyone to know how much she liked Skittles, they could only guess. Starfire thought it was because of the colors. If Skittles came in black, gray and navy blue, she suspected that Raven wouldn't be so ashamed of enjoying the fruity candies. Robin was a little more difficult to pull in. He didn't care for Skittles and perhaps a bit of his leader's ego kicked in. After all, it did seem a bit awkward to tell your team leader to "Go get up and fetch us the chips, fool!" the way they did each other when the task fell to them. Most times, Robin was leaning back on his chair with his booted feet up on the control board while he read a book, letting them play the game unhampered. A week through the watch, Starfire had only managed to wheedle him into joining the game once. She didn't suppose he'd want to join again considering Beast Boy said, "If you find grabbing the soda too difficult, you could always scratch my back." Robin gave him such a deadly look that Beast Boy realized he wasn't going to survive the back scratching if Robin opted for it.

Approximately a week after they first began watching Maxwell Victoria, Starfire found herself being woken from sleep at three o' clock in the morning by Raven.

Upon seeing Raven in her room, Starfire took a second to panic, wondering what she could do to lessen the awkwardness of being caught in bed with Robin. The next second had her relaxing as she remembered that Robin hadn't slept in that night, so she was alone.

Starfire shot out of bed, blinking back sleep as quickly as she could. "What is wrong?"

"You have to come with me," said Raven. "Something came up."

"Should we get Robin?"

Raven hesitated before she spoke. "Yes. Actually, I think Cyborg's seeing to that, but—just come with me."

Slightly worried, Starfire followed Raven out of her room and down the hall. As they stepped into the elevators, Starfire tugged gently at Raven's cloak.

"Is it so bad? Has someone died? Oh, goodness!"

"I don't know if it's bad," said Raven patiently. "Until we know for sure what it's about, you have to stay calm."

Starfire was confused; or maybe she was still sleep ridden. Either way, she didn't understand. "You do not know what this is about? But—"

"It's pointless to explain."

Starfire bit back whatever else she was going to say. "It's pointless to explain," was Raven-ese for "Shut up."

When she arrived at the Info Center, everyone else was there. Robin, Cyborg and Beast Boy turned from the monitor as they walked out of the elevator.

Starfire became conscious that they were all staring at _her. _Her anxiety increased as she joined them on the computer panel. "W-What is this about?"

It was Robin who spoke first. "Beast Boy, play back the clip."

Beast Boy nodded, working on some dials.

Moments later, something fizzed on screen. At first it was unclear and full of static. Vaguely, she could make out a blurred image that spoke in deep, disjointed audio.

Starfire was making no sense of it and she flashed Robin a questioning glance. Robin nodded, as if to say he understood her confusion, but _wait. _

Seconds later, the picture gained clarity and the garbled words began to make sense.

_"Koriand'r-k'lorlian."_

Princess Koriand'r.

_"G'than _Earth _dehayla Lu Kar, kedin yavar kult—Rav glor ruskva galan, ar'i nelkvi."_

I do hereby send this formal advanced message to announce the arrival of our party on the Water Planet known as "Earth".

_"Dun rish selen kad galan, vin-ko-hur juna _Earth_, glor dehayla Lu Kar tai-ko-zor garza, fleg uk-zayd-vin-ko-vin garzo, kult dak nurl seisod."_

Our party shall land within the approximate longitude of 37 degrees and latitude of 122 degrees in the Water Planet, 24 Earth clicks after you receive this message.

Starfire's vision blurred with tears. It had been so long since she heard her language on someone else's lips. Even during her encounters with Blackfire, her sister had chosen to speak languages from _"_Earth _dehayla Lu Kar" _or the "Water Planet known as Earth." It was as if Blackfire had refused to speak the language of her birth.

To hear Tamaranian spoken so fluently from the lips of one she loved so deeply was indeed moving.

Though the picture remained somewhat undefined, there was no mistaking it, for his red hair was like a roaring flame of warmth, thick and luscious, and his eyes, though one of them marred by a vicious scar, shone in one of the rarest greens in all of Tamaran: an ambiguous, olive gray.

It was Galfore, and he had found her at last.

_To be continued…_

_

* * *

_

Author's note: The language I used was made up, but I did compose syntax to go with it. As you could see, some words repeated themselves. That's because they mean the same thing within the context of the sentence Galfore was speaking. In any case, I tried not to be terribly random about it. It has a system; that comforts me.

Another issue I'd like to address is a question from one of the readers. She asked: If Starfire could fly in space, shouldn't she be invulnerable to drowning? While the question makes a lot of sense, the answers, I'm afraid, could not boast of the same. Only references to the show give the answer credibility: While indeed, Starfire could fly in space without need of protective clothing, it was shown several times in the show that she could very well drown. Whenever they have to go underwater, she cannot swim alongside Beasty Boy and Aqualad. Considering she still chose to ride inside Beast Boy's mouth to get away from the underwater HIVE base as it collapsed around them was telling enough. If I could survive underwater, I wouldn't set foot in Beast Boy's mouth for anything. In the same episode, she, along with Robin and Raven, took a deep breath before submerging herself in the water. She needs oxygen underwater just like the rest of us mammals. Why she doesn't need it in space is a mystery. This is, of course, theoretically impossible. Most, if not all living beings have fluids running in their veins, and since space is a vacuum, all living things should turn into a dehydrated Popsicle when exposed to the physics-defying void of space. But assuming Starfire could harness the power of the sun, it could be assumed that she has an internal core of sorts that could regulate her bodily functions from within, thus her ability to fly in space without petrifying herself, but that's just guessing on my part. The show gives the facts. Though it feels no need to explain, who am I to disagree? Lol. Hope that answers that issue!

Thanks to all my readers! Replies to reviews will follow shortly! Just had to get this chapter out.


	8. Way of the Vegan Realms

**Pronunciation guide and glossary:**

_Dai – _Die; used as a function word to indicate that a following noun or noun equivalent is a unique or a particular member of its class; "the"

Jurumad – _JOO-roo-mad; _meaning: Captain (in the Tamaranian army)

_Rulad_ – ROO-lad; meaning: One below the rank of captain (in the Tamaranian army); Second Lieutenant.

_Taryia – _Ta-ree-EE-ya

_Hnyxx – _Nix

Author's note: Again, I'd like to remind everyone that Imade up the words based on the phonetics of the Tamaranian words Starfire and Galfore had spoken on the show. I'm no expert, I'll tell you that, but it's the best I could do.

The planets Hnyxx and Euphorix are Vegan planets from the comics. Garon is a planet outside of Vega, also from the comics. While Hnyxx was mentioned in the New Teen Titans comics, I have no idea what their people look like. I made up my own impression of them. I know even less about Euphorix and Garon, as they are from the Omega Men comics. I know practically _nothing _about the Omega Men; just stuff I picked up from the internet.

Standard disclaimers apply.

**PATH TO TAMARAN**

**Chapter Eight – Way of the Vegan Realms**

Starfire stood transfixed, her mind a rush of memories; good memories.

Galfore's monstrous voice, so quick to scare those who did not know him, had brought her such warmth and security in the past that even hearing it now, formal as he was, made her feel as if nothing could go wrong again. At the end of the tape, she continued to stare, drinking in details and comparing them to when she had seen him last.

The scar was the least of it. That was glaringly obvious. He did not have the scar when last she saw him, but it was the more subtle changes that caught her. There were lines around his eyes, like the skin had gone arid with constant strain. His hair, though rich and red at first glance, had hints of silver peppering it.

Tamaranians aged beautifully, and _slowly_. To see Galfore look old beyond his years was astounding. Her heart wrenched. What has he been doing to wear him out so quickly?

The answer came almost as soon as she asked the question, accompanied by the dull ache throbbing in the pit of her stomach. He didn't look old; he looked tired.

_Looking for you._

She sighed regretfully. Given the chance to take back all those years she had spent getting as far away from Tamaran as possible, would she make everything turn out differently? She knew she would not. Given the chance, she would do it exactly the same way. If she could prevent Blackfire from getting exchanged, she would prevent it. If she could fail her tests at Okaara, she would fail it. But even now, looking back on it all, there was no avoiding fate.

Bruce had told her that fate was fate, but destiny was what one made of it. If she could pinpoint the exact moment when her decision shaped her destiny, ultimately leading to the fate she lived with now, she might take all of it back from there. _Might._

She looked at Robin, his gaze set on her. Where would he be if she had taken a different path?

_He would still be here, but you will be somewhere else, and you will not know him. You will live your lives without each other; without the slightest clue that a part of you was missing._

Starfire knew then that she would not take anything back for the world.

"Is he hostile?"

It was Raven who asked the question and for a moment, the question sounded so preposterous to Starfire that she could only stare.

Robin answered when she didn't. "He isn't supposed to be. Starfire?"

Starfire came to her senses and her lips pursed as she fixed her eyes on Raven intently. "Galfore is not hostile. Galfore is—" She stopped herself on time. Raven would not appreciate her gushing about how kind and wonderful Galfore was—is. "Galfore is a knight of the Ancient Lambian Order and _k'norfka_ to me. His knighthood gives him honor and as _k'norfka_ he bears undying loyalty to his princess. He would die for me before he dies for the Grand Ruler of Tamaran."

Raven arched an eyebrow. "A _no_ would have sufficed."

Starfire sighed. She reddened, embarrassed by her vehemence. "I am sorry. He is important to me and—what he says distresses me."

Beast Boy's eyes widened anxiously. "What? What did he say?"

"He and his entourage will be arriving twenty-four Earth clicks from the time of the tape. I think he means hours."

"There was a twelve hour delay from the time the message was sent," said Raven. "We don't have that much time to prepare."

"Where are they landing?" asked Cyborg.

"Within our approximate locale," said Starfire. "I would not worry about it. A Tamaranian diplomatic ship is hard to miss. They are—well, huge."

Robin, his expression cold behind the mask, asked the most important question. "Why? Why are they coming here?" His voice was controlled; too controlled.

The others weren't feeling the strain. It was too subtle, but Starfire could tell it was there. Starfire had learned to notice it. Maybe Raven knew, but Starfire was sure the empath would say nothing.

"He did not say why," said Starfire. She wished she knew. Uncertainty was a wretched feeling.

"Should we prepare the tower for their arrival?"

Starfire thought about it and gave a slight shake of her head. "Nothing very special. The advanced message speaks of a formal visit, so Galfore will request audience with the leader. He will ask your permission to address me and all you really need to do is give it, but… do not be offended if he acts—well, surprised at the beginning. His loyalty to me could border on the unreasonable. In his mind, I should be the leader, always."

Robin shrugged. "It's no issue to me to name you leader for this visit. If it makes things easier—"

"No. It is better if you are leader," said Starfire. "It is the truth, anyway. I would rather we maintain that. So that there is no confusion, we must all walk behind you at rendezvous point. If we do it that way, Galfore will understand by sight."

Robin nodded. "Alright. How many people are we expecting here? I want to inform everyone in our network about this meeting. They'll be concerned, for security reasons. It's better if they knew the aliens' intentions. After all, we don't want Batman ordering the Watchtower personnel to blowtheir shipto bits."

Starfire counted it out in her head. A diplomatic ship needed a crew of ten to fly it, but it needed a back-up crew of engineers, technicians and perhaps a doctor. It would bring the number up to twenty; not counting Galfore and his entourage. "I would say the ship has about twenty five to thirty personnel, but if you are worried about accommodations, do not. A diplomatic ship could house them well enough. Most of them would not wish to leave the ship anyway."

"Ho man, this is going to be so cool!" said Beast Boy. "It'd be like the Enterprise! Do you think they'd have a hot Vulcan counselor on board the ship?"

"Vulcan?"

"Yeah! You know, 'Live long and prosper!'" Beast Boy held up his hand and made a "V" between his middle and fourth finger.

Starfire was so confused.

Cyborg sighed, rolling his good eye. "Not now, Beast Boy."

"Is there anything else you'd like to add, Starfire?" asked Robin. She shook her head and he looked to the others. "Anyone else have any questions?"

When Beast Boy began to speak, Robin hastily added: "… that has nothing to do with Star Trek, Babylon 5 or any show on the sci-fi channel."

Beast Boy's enthusiastic expression withered.

No one said anything and Robin nodded. "Fine. As you were." For everyone except Raven, that meant going back to their bedrooms to sleep. "Starfire."

She arched an eyebrow.

He jerked his head towards the weights room. It was a casual gesture; personal. She braced herself.

They walked into the room and Robin shut the door behind them. She sat on the bench press and waited for his questions.

His face behind the mask was stone cold. "Have they come to take you away?"

Starfire let out a breath. She knew he would ask that. "I do not know. They will not kidnap me, if that is what you are thinking. They would never inflict violence on the crown princess of Tamaran without warning me before-hand. I mean, it is one thing to creep into the night, unannounced, and then taking me; it is a completely different matter if they present themselves as diplomatic and then catch me by surprise. That is betrayal. They would never do that."

His reaction was very much restrained. He shrugged a shoulder. "Same question: Have they come to take you away?"

She held his gaze. "They cannot make me go back to Tamaran if I do not want to. And I do not want to."

Robin stood there, making no response.

She knew he had another question on his mind and she didn't know what to tell him if he asked it.

"How are you doing with all this?" It was a question, but it was not the one she feared. She thanked X'Hal for it.

She tried to smile for him. She succeeded, mostly. "It is wonderful to hear Galfore's voice again. And truly, I do wish to see him."

"Do you think your parents are on that ship?"

Starfire chuckled and shook her head. "If either of them were on the ship, they would have sent the advanced message. Galfore is the highest ranked in that party. Everyone, even the captain of the ship, must answer to him."

Robin let out a breath, sitting beside her on the bench. "Kind of a relief, actually. I thought I'd have to meet your father or something…"

She stared for a moment before she burst out in giggles. She had been so long without parents that she had almost forgotten how a princess' consort could lose all nerve in the face of meeting the princess' father. She had seen it happen with her cousins' admirers. Every one of their consorts: brave knights and warriors, shaking in their boots when they had to meet the fathers. It was universal. "You will find Galfore much easier to win over than my father ever will be."

He chuckled softly. "That's only comforting if I have no intention of ever meeting your dad, Kori."

She arched an eyebrow, amused. "You want to meet my father?"

He cocked a smile. An odd aura settling over him; the way a person glowed when they made a promise they had every intention of keeping, at least for the moment. "Maybe. Eventually. You know?"

A blush spread over her at the mere implication of his words. It gave her a thrill, however fanciful the thought was, as of yet. "Well, I would not worry about it, if I were you. I do not even know if he likes _me."_

"And what would he say if he found out you were dating a commoner?"

"Commoner? Oh Robin, do not call yourself that."

He waved her words away. "Eh, it doesn't bother me. What'll he say? I'm just curious."

Starfire made a face. Her father's reaction would be beyond Robin's comprehension. There were a lot of things he still didn't understand of her culture, and many of those things; he didn't need to know about. She settled for a response he was probably expecting. "I am not sure he would approve. He would probably bribe you to stay away from me." It was partially true. No matter what their culture entailed on the matter of princes or princesses having consorts, her father would prefer her to be with a noble of high rank.

"Oh? How much are we talking about here?"

"Richard!"

He grinned and pinched her chin affectionately. "What if Galfore doesn't like me?"

Starfire thought that impossible. She smiled. "He will like you."

"What if he doesn't?"

"I would just have to make him understand why he should. In the end, he really has no choice, Robin. He will like whomever I wish him to like."

Robin shrugged. "Well, I'd really want him to like me for real, and not just because you told him to. He's important to you, so his opinion matters to me."

"You really think so?"

"Well, sure."

She looked at him with warm adoration.

He gave her one of those half grins as he got to his feet. "Better get some rest. Big day tomorrow."

There was an apprehensive quality to her smile as she nodded. "Yes. Big day indeed."

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Starfire stared at the mirror, hairbrush in hand.

She glanced briefly at her table clock and saw that it was only one in the afternoon. She sighed, putting her brush down. The waiting was driving her mindless.

Since she woke up that morning, she hadn't been quite herself. While she had managed not to burn the pancakes and bacon, she had sprinkled flour, instead of confectioner's sugar over her stack. She had been so embarrassed by her mistake that she told no one about it, bravely eating the pancakes without flinching. It hadn't been so bad anyway, just starchier than it should have been. And then while she worked with the rest of the team preparing the planet for the arrival of the Tamaranians, she kept "spacing out", one worry breeding another.

By the time lunch rolled by, she had managed to make a mental list of all the things Galfore would be disappointed in her for; like her hair, for instance.

Galfore had loved her hair long. He had kept her from the shears for as long as possible when she had been a child. When the Gordanians took her, the slavers had chopped her hair short without a second thought, and much to her surprise, she learned how much easier it was to keep hair that—well, wasn't so long.

While her hair was waist-length now, it was nothing compared to how long it was when Galfore was taking care of her.

As she sat before her glass, she was thinking up of ways to make her hair seem longer; or perhaps hide its relative shortness.

She picked up the brush and ran its teeth through her strands, styling it one way, and then another.

"For heaven's sake," she muttered, yanking painfully at a knot in her hair. "I do not even get this worked up before going on a date with Richard."

She checked her nails. They were not perfect, but they were clean. That was important.

A lock of hair fell over her face and she blew at it from the corner of her lip. She looked up in the mirror, blinking.

Her eyes.

Galfore hadn't been there for her transformation, but he had probably figured that she had gone through it. What was he going to think about her inability to shoot bolts from her eyes?

Starfire gave a miserable moan. Oh, I am going to disappoint him terribly!

The sound of her T-Comm broke through her misery and she grabbed it from her table. It was Cyborg.

"Girl, get up here ASAP. It's about our Tamaranian guests."

A dreadful sensation rippled through her stomach. She did not even think twice. She took off, shooting out of her room and through the halls to get to the elevator.

She was in the Information Center in minutes. Cyborg and Raven were there. Beast Boy and Robin followed from the elevator shortly.

Starfire stared at the monitor where the radar readings were magnified. There was a large ship heading towards Earth, and according to the technical data showing up on the computer, she could tell that it was, indeed a Tamaranian diplomatic craft. What bothered her were the three smaller ships that escorted it.

They were just that: Escort Crafts, but escort crafts were used for two reasons only. One was when royalty was aboard the primary ship. Unless Galfore had somehow elevated himself to royalty, that wasn't the reason. It had to be the second reason, which was military in nature. Escort Crafts commonly held soldiers of the Tamaranian army, usually belonging to one unit. If they weren't escorting royalty, they were escorting their captain.

Why a captain would be on a diplomatic mission was never a fixed matter. There was always an important reason; usually tactical.

She couldn't help but feel a bit of royal outrage. Did they perceive her as a threat? Or maybe they wanted to threaten her? How dare they threaten a princess of the realm!

She shook her head. It hardly mattered. At least she was certain that the ships weren't hostile to anyone else. Though Escort crafts were fitted with state of the art weaponry, their main purpose was to protect the primary ship and evade attacks, not initiate them. Besides, Galfore would never allow any harm to come to her and those around her. Army captain notwithstanding, Galfore was still in command of the delegation.

"What's with all the ships?" asked Robin.

"Escorts," she said. "There is an army captain aboard the primary ship. That is his, or her—what you would call—gang." Essentially, it was exactly that. In transit, a captain could hardly be expected to bring his entire unit with him. A unit contained at least five hundred soldiers. It would be impossible to fit them all in three escort crafts. So when the captain had to have escorts, he picked the best of the crop, usually the ones closest to him, professionally and personally. It was like a brotherhood of sorts. Even when the captain was a woman, it was still called that, mainly because most of the army still consisted of men.

Raven appeared beside her, punching the codes to get a visual on the crafts. "Do you usually have the military handy for diplomatic visits?"

"Not always."

"Why are they present now?"

"I do not know, but they are no threat to Earth, of that I am certain."

Beast Boy pointed to another output panel. "They're entering the Earth's atmosphere. They're a bit early."

The communication panels began beeping for attention. The other channels within the network were already reacting; no doubt to inquire about the number of ships entering Earth. They had only expected one ship. More than two was a bit alarming.

The titans fell to their workstations to answer the calls, explaining the situation and telling them that there was no threat as of yet. They coordinated efforts to keep the press at bay and have the police department dispatch the barricades around the approximate landing site.

Starfire tried her best to concentrate on what she had to do. She had to make everyone, particularly the authorities, understand that the presence of the escort ships was no threat to the planet. As far as she knew, the only one who should be worried about the military's presence was her. Of course, she didn't say that out loud. Robin was worried enough about her safety; there was no need for her to lay the alert on too thick.

Forty-five minutes later, with the Watchtower and other security units appeased, the titans plotted the trajectory of the ships and calculated the approximate landing site based on it.

They took the T-chopper while Robin fed the coordinates of the landing site to the proper authorities and all those concerned.

When Robin finished sending out the details, he spoke to the Titans through their headpieces. "Any last minute tips, Starfire?"

Starfire thought about it. She hesitated a second before she went on. "Tamaranians are somewhat—" she searched for an appropriate word "—big. And my people have a manner to them that they may seem arrogant at the beginning, especially because many of us have to physically look down on most races simply because we're taller. Please do not misinterpret it if—well, they use nicknames like 'little one' or, um, 'small friend'. They are not belittling you; they are merely being precise."

She could tell that none of them knew exactly what to say to that. As Titans, they didn't get looked down on much, and they didn't get called 'small' a lot either. Perhaps Beast Boy, and even Robin, had been called something along the same lines on one or two occasions, but Cyborg certainly never got that kind of treatment from others. With the Tamaranians, he just might.

After a brief pause, Robin spoke again. "Anything else?"

Starfire shook her head.

The rest of the trip was spent in silence.

They flew over the dense forest where they could still see traces of their battle with Slade's Fire Giant. Much of the damaged growth towards the outer perimeter of the forest had already grown back thick and luscious, but towards the middle, where the fires had blazed hottest, there were patches of blackened stumps where the trees hadn't recovered.

They passed the press and police converging around the edges of the landing site. There were other helicopters patrolling the air surrounding them, hovering and shooing away press copters with blaring warnings and aggressive maneuvers.

A few civilians were picketing the perimeter area. Whether they were welcoming the other-worlders or shunning them, it was hard to tell.

But all thoughts of present chaos faded at the sight of the spaceship rising in the horizon.

Cyborg gave a whistle. "Didn't look like much on the visuals, but from here, I gotta say… that's a bad-ass ship."

Starfire nodded in agreement. Tamaranian ships were designed to intimidate. They were made to look like mechanical beasts with skeletal ridges and thick armored plates. It was streamlined; fiercely so, like a shark flying through mid-air.

The escort ships came into view. They looked like miniatures of the mother ship. They sank into the heavy growth, disappearing from sight. The primary ship remained hovering above the trees. Save for the usual wind, everything was still. Hover beams did not displace air so there was no obvious disruption on the surface.

Starfire let a breath out through her mouth. "We must touch down now. The primary ship will remain like that throughout the duration of its stay."

"You mean that thing's landed?" Beast Boy asked, wide-eyed.

"Yes. It could maintain its hovering status for as long as there is solar power to support it. Our ships could harness the sun's power too."

"That's too awesome for words."

Robin nodded. "Set her down, Cy."

Cyborg found a patch of land nearby to set the T-Chopper down without getting its blades tangled in the trees. Their landing was smooth and swift, with Cyborg sliding the doors open from the controls even before they were completely touched down. As Cyborg powered down, the Titans removed themselves from the seat straps and began to pile out of the chopper.

The ship loomed not too far overhead and for its size, it barely made a sound.

Robin stared up at it thoughtfully before blowing out a breath. "Damn. That thing's huge."

Raven drifted to Starfire's side. "I'm almost afraid to imagine what your ships look like when you're not trying to be diplomatic."

Starfire grinned. She didn't miss the key word: "Almost." She was inclined to believe that the somewhat gothic design appealed to Raven's sensibilities. "They could be quite terrifying."

It almost seemed like Raven was going to smile. "I'll bet."

Beast Boy gaped, nudging Cyborg with an elbow. "Dude, ten bucks say they'll beam themselves down."

Cyborg frowned. "Again with the beaming."

"Let's go, Titans," said Robin, leading the way. "We don't want to keep our guests waiting."

The Titans flanked him as they walked through the trees, the shadow of leaves playing on their faces. Soon, the shadows bled into one dim sheet, blocking the sun out as the ship floated overhead.

They could see the three escort ships some distance away, placed in three strategic points in smaller clearings but beyond a thicket of trees.

The Titans emerged on a fairly large clearing marred by a few tree-stumps. There were traces of soot on the ground, but it did not look like remnants of Slade's Fire Giant. These were from fires ignited by campers past.

With the Tamaranians abroad, Starfire suspected campers wouldn't be making it this far into the forest.

"How far into the clearing should we go?" Robin asked Starfire.

"Along here is fine. It is customary for the Tamaranians to approach us."

Robin nodded. "Then we wait."

The truth was, Starfire wasn't sure what to expect. Galfore had been straightforward in the advanced message, but he had showed no hint of anything other than what he had said. He had said nothing about escort ships nor did he even acknowledge the fact that they were landing in very alien territory. He had acted as if he was merely dropping by for tea, which was unsettling.

The wait did not take long, but Starfire felt it took long enough to feel the full extent of the ships' ominous presence.

The dead calm was disturbed by the shimmer of air some fifteen yards in front of them, like fireflies appearing in the dimness and swarming amongst each other. It was accompanied by a sound comparable to crystals shattering into shards and dropping to the floor in melodious crinkles.

Shapes began to form; like a television with a bad reception steadily gaining clarity.

The pinprick lights faded, leaving behind the towering form of Galfore and his entourage of towering men behind him.

They had beamed down, just as Beast Boy had predicted.

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Starfire observed them from afar. There was one woman in the group, to Galfore's right, but the rest of them, four by her count, were men. Everyone in the group had long, flowing hair in varying shades of red, except perhaps for the man to Galfore's left who was visible only by the rich shine of brown, slightly wavy hair. Galfore covered everyone to his left. He was huge.

The style of clothing had changed. Instead of the bright purples that Starfire first left them with, the shade had deepened, turning almost black, set in a cassock-like length but fitted enough at the top to show their finely shaped upper bodies. Their belts, holsters and weapon sheathes were set in traditional Tamaranian silver, or perhaps white gold. Their thick armbands gleamed in the darkness.

The three escort ships yawned open. Each ship expelled six men, all of them in perfect formation. They did not leave the perimeter of their ships, but they stood at attention. They were not dressed the same way as the primary party. Their uniforms were more standard: Tunics, surcoats, breaches and reinforced boots. They had their own weaponry, but these were standard issue swords strapped to their backs. Most had hand-sized laser cannons. Not all Tamarnians could shoot bolts. While most of these men were red headed, there were more black and brown haired men and women amongst them.

As the primary group began to walk towards the Titans, Starfire could make out the thick utility boots peeking from beneath their hems. They looked even clumpier than Robin's boots, like the boots themselves were weapons. It did not surprise Starfire in the least. Tamaranians hardly wore armor while in battle, but it was important to reinforce the body parts that could be used to inflict pain.

Galfore walked with bursting confidence, his entourage following with a swagger to their stride.

Starfire's eyes widened as the details of Galfore's dress and armband became even clearer. She understood, in an instant, why the escort ships were there. The ones behind Galfore weren't merely an "entourage", they were soldiers, and Galfore was their captain. They walked with a swagger because they thought highly of their leader, therefore highly of themselves; there was no other way to explain it. They were a pack, and Galfore was their pack-alpha.

It took everything in Starfire's power not to jump up and fly into his arms. All the insecurities she harbored that afternoon melted away as the reality of himsuffused her.Not only was she happy to see him, but to know he was captain, or _Jurumad_, of the Tamaranian army made her immensely proud. Her heart drummed in her chest as she leaned over to Robin.

"Galfore is the captain," she muttered.

Robin, without looking at her, responded. "What?"

"Galfore is the captain."

He arched an eyebrow. "That explains a lot. Do I have to address him by his title?"

Starfire desperately wanted to gush, "Oh please do! That sounds so wonderful!" but restrained herself and just said, "Yes!" with a luminous grin.

Robin smiled ever so slightly before he stepped forward.

Starfire saw the flicker of uncertainty in Galfore's eyes, but it was so slight that she would wager that even Robin didn't notice it. Galfore was no doubt astonished that she had to answer to someone, or that she was there in the first place. Galfore would have expected that she would be somewhere else, where her rendezvous party would escort the guests to be presented to her. It would take Galfore a while to realize that they were far away enough from Tamaran to have her treated like everyone else.

Galfore came to a halt in front of Robin, and while his soldiers fidgeted momentarily at what they probably perceived as a mistake in the Titan ranks, they recovered almost as quickly when Robin extended his hand for the traditional Earth handshake.

"Captain Galfore. Welcome to Earth. My name is Robin." He did not need to say he was leader. It was obvious enough.

Galfore nodded and clasped Robin's entire forearm, giving it a firm shake. Robin's jaw twitched ever so slightly.

Starfire suppressed her wince, realizing that she should have warned Robin of Galfore's crushing grip.

To Robin's credit, he made no further indication of his discomfort. They unclasped their arms.

Galfore spoke, his voice deep, full and authoritative. "You do me honor by receiving me and my unit. We have traveled a long way, uncertain of the reception we would get."

"There was no reason to treat you otherwise, captain."

To that, Galfore smiled. It was a smile Starfire hadn't seen for years, but had missed so terribly that she felt emotional at the mere memory of it. The smile was warm, friendly, reassuring and kind all at the same time. It was difficult to imagine that he was capable of any kind of violence when he flashed it, yet here he was, captain of the army.

"I thank you," said Galfore.

Robin stepped back. "I know you came here to see Starfire, captain, so I won't delay you any further. Starfire?"

Starfire stepped forward, her smile stretched from ear to ear. She would have flown into his arms and tackled him to the ground, but she wanted to keep him dignified in front of his men. She was so proud of him! He would always be her _k'norfka_, but in front of his men, he was _Galfore dai Jurumad._

Galfore smiled back, playing the part perfectly, were it not for the twinkle in his eyes. He stood straight-backed, chest out. He took a deep breath and belted out a word Starfire didn't recognize. His booming voice rang throughout the forest, possibly scaring away the last of the wildlife who hadn't ran out earlier.

The men surrounding him shifted crisply, shouting out a response while they fell into a stance of respect given only to members of the Royal House of Korithus. Korithus was her grandfather's name, but of course, it was a name taken from ancestors long past.

Starfire felt her cheeks flaming at the display, but to be awkward in the face of such respect would dishonor everyone. She wasn't sure what Galfore had said. It was common in the military for units to come up with signals and words only the members of the unit understood, but it wasn't difficult for an outsider, like herself, to formulate a proper response.

She spoke in Tamaranian, telling them she was honored and that they may be at ease in her presence. They complied with another crisp shift, the thundering stomp of their feet clapping as one and their voices booming in unison as they thanked her for the respect.

It was all very embarrassing to Starfire, and she dared not look back at her friends, but she bore it with dignity, for Galfore. It was his way of showing off, and she loved it, after all.

She reached up with both hands and smoothed her palms over Galfore's officer's surcoat with a snap. She pulled at some imaginary wrinkles and adjusted the officer's pin on his chest, as if it was tilted. She grinned and he returned it. His tooth was still chipped and it warmed her to realize just how familiar it was.

"Excellent form, captain," she said. "Your men do you honor."

He beamed. "Permission to speak and act freely, Princess Koriand'r."

"Permission granted, captain."

"I have missed you abominably, little one." And just like that, he caught her in his mighty arms and spun her in the air.

She giggled, throwing her arms around his neck. "Goodness, Galfore! How wonderful it is to see you, and a captain, too! I am so proud of you!"

"Many things have happened since you were gone from Tamaran, princess. I will only be too eager to tell you. But first thing's first: introductions."

She nodded, a flushed look of excitement on her face, never minding that the rest of the unit remained as still as statues. She pulled Galfore by the hand and presented the Titans to him. "Galfore, you have already met my leader and my dearest friend, Robin."

Galfore nodded in acknowledgement. "Good grip on that lad."

Robin's half-grin rose with his eyebrow.

Starfire gestured to the others as she said their names. "This is Raven, Beast Boy and Cyborg."

Raven rose into the air, nodding to Galfore at eye level. Galfore seemed properly impressed by it.

Cyborg looked up and grinned. "What's happenin', bro?"

Galfore looked mildly surprised, probably confused as to why Cyborg was asking about what was happening when he was right there, seeing what was happening. But he let it go without asking, focusing instead on the friendly smile on Cyborg's face.

Beast Boy stepped up to him, eyes as big as saucers. "Cap't… you're—like—humungous."

Galfore squinted to get a closer look at Beast Boy.

Beast Boy blinked under the scrutiny and was caught completely off-guard by Galfore's hand capping his head. The hand was thick, but gentle, like a father patting the head of his son. Beast Boy scowled at the treatment but didn't say much to complain. He wasn't about to displease the hulking and massive captain of the Tamranian army.

Starfire grinned, pleased by it all. "They have all been such friends to me! And they are all very talented. They could do so many things others cannot, and with Robin leading us, we help those who cannot help themselves. I have much to tell you!"

"I'd expect so, my little _bunggorf."_ He chucked Starfire's chin and gestured to his men as he addressed Robin. "These are my most trusted. _Rulad;_ every one of them, and deserving of their ranks." _Rulad_ was one step down from _Jurumad_ though not all of them advanced. Galfore indicated the three men behind him. "These are Luren, Jak'r and Sul-Dharr."

Luren and Jak'r looked like typical Tamaranian males, but Sul-Dharr did not quite fit the norm. Not only was his name of differing origin, but his red hair was set against rich brown skin and golden eyes. It gave him distinction as all three of the newly introduced _Rulad_ bowed respectfully in her direction.

Galfore continued, gesturing to the two to his right and left. "Taryia and Karras are up for promotion very soon and I am proud to have them in my unit."

Starfire blinked, staring at the brown-haired soldier to Galfore's left. He had been covered by Galfore's bulk earlier, and the fact of the matter was, he wasn't as large as the rest of the Tamaranians. He was tall, yes, and his shape was muscular enough to merit him respect in the Tamaranian army, but he was still smaller, because he wasn't Tamaranian; he was Kalapattian.

Karras turned to meet her gaze and the stoic mask melted away. His lips spread into a toothy grin, like a dog snarling at his prey.

When she first saw him four years ago, she had gauged his age to be nineteen or twenty, when he had, in fact, been seventeen, on the cusp of eighteen. He had always looked older because he was cocky, and arrogant. His confidence was terribly grating to her because he had always used it to make her the butt of his jokes. He was twenty and one now, but his goatee made him look much more mature. His long wavy hair was framed by two braids going down the sides of his face in the traditional _Rulad_ hairstyle, but he wore arm-bracers with Kalapattian etchings; a tribute to his race. He had a sword strapped to his waist. It seemed smaller compared to the broad, Tamaranian swords, but it only meant his fighting technique was faster; more precise. She had fought him with weapons before, but she doubted he had come at her with the full force of his skill.

Even after four years, the mischief was still clear in his gaze. One look and she knew that he wasn't quite done making fun of her and that she wouldn't like him any better than she did then.

She frowned and shot him a fierce glare. How in the world did he ever make _Rulad? Rulad_ were supposed to be responsible, dignified, intelligent and consistent in garnering high marks throughout one's military career. Granted he could have been all those things, she was yet to see it to believe it. Besides that, she could not help but wonder if his status as Prince of Kalapatt, potential king, even, had anything to do with it.

His sneer broadened. He recognized her and while it only served to irk her more, her only response was the raising of her eyebrow. She would deal with him later, even if she itched to say something particularly biting that very moment.

One thing was odd, though. Did Galfore not know they were acquainted? Surely, when Karras found out she was princess and sent word to Tamaran, the news had spread in Tamaranian court that she had been under the care of Kalapatt's royal family. Galfore should have known, but it appeared he didn't. Something was afoot, but she would have to ask Karras about it if they got around to having a civil conversation. Right now, she had other, more important things to attend to.

She turned, instead, to Taryia. She was an attractive woman in her own right. She was only slightly taller than Starfire, but she looked like she was built firmer. Her curly auburn hair was tied back in a high ponytail and there was a ferocity to her green gaze that Starfire might have found intimidating if she hadn't stood up to the likes of Blackfire and many other super villains.

Taryia wasn't a striking beauty, but she had character, and if the size of her custom made sword was any indication, she was a formidable warrior.

"As well you should be proud of them, Galfore. I am looking forward to—" She was going to say, "know them better" but that would be an untruth in the extreme. She already knew Karras, and she wasn't planning on getting any more familiar with him. "—engaging them in discussion."

Robin gave an affable smile. "We should continue all discussion in the Tower. I would invite everyone, captain—"

"Please, call me Galfore. There are no formalities between me and the princess' friends."

"Galfore it is, then. As much as you are all welcome in our tower, we couldn't transport everyone there all at once."

"Worry not. I shall bring only Taryia and Karras. Luren, Jak'r and Sul-Dharr must stay here to oversee the rest of the unit. The primary ship is equipped to accommodate me and my men's board and lodging, so you need not worry about where you will put all of us, either."

Robin nodded. "Then let's go." He fell into step with Galfore and Starfire took the other side. She tried not to let Karras' grin affect her as she turned her back on him, concentrating instead on Robin's easy conversation with Galfore.

Behind them, she could hear Beast Boy's voice.

"What's up, Rulad Taryia? That's a bad-ass sword you have there!"

Taryia said something in Tamaranian. She had the kind of voice that couldn't belt out a girlish scream if her life depended on it; a voice that couldn't quite manage a giggle. It was straightforward, crisp and no-nonsense; a voice that men in the army listened to, feminine though it was, yet it wasn't unkind, and Starfire could almost hear the grin as she spoke to Beast Boy. A moment later she was speaking in English. "We are thankful of your welcome, little one. Now we may talk."

Beast Boy probably did not like being called "little one" in spite of Starfire's earlier warning.

Cyborg addressed her as well, and as was Raven's wont, she said nothing. Karras remained quietly in the background. It was likely he couldn't understand anything that was being said. He was Kalapattian. He did not have the ability to absorb languages by touch like Tamaranians do.

"Two _Rulad_ from your unit up for promotion," said Robin to Galfore. "You must be very proud."

Galfore smiled as he absentmindedly put an affectionate arm over Starfire's shoulders. "Yes. These men and women are like my children and to have them advance makes me very happy. They got by on their own merits and I do believe I had very little to do with it."

Starfire patted the hand he had on her shoulder. "Galfore, you are too modest."

"Oh, it is true! In fact, _Karras dai Rulad_ has only been with my unit for—let's see… how do I put this? Ah! One Earth solar revolution and six lunar cycles. And he could have stayed in Tamaran because his—well—social rank allows him that privilege, but he was only too eager to go on this trip with me."

Starfire's eyebrow arched again. _I bet he was._

They made their way to the chopper and as they boarded, Starfire heard Beast Boy say, "Man, I can't believe he fit into the chopper."

"Beast Boy," said Raven. "You are embarrassing the entire human race. Stop that."

"Behave, BB," said Cyborg sternly.

"What'd I do?" He didn't get a reply.

Shrugging, he climbed into the chopper and strategically placed himself beside Taryia.

Starfire buckled herself into her seat, Robin beside her. She looked over at Galfore who quite comfortably took up two seats. She glanced briefly at the back and caught Karras staring.

She shot him a scowl and his gaze narrowed at her contemptuously. She could have growled but Raven levitated to his side and sat, securing herself.

The nerve of him, she thought, turning her nose up and settling back down on her seat.

Cyborg closed them all in and started the blades. Moments later, the blades were on full throttle and they were lifting off the ground. They were on their way back to the tower.

8888888888888888888

The Conference Room was the most ideal setting for that afternoon's meeting. It was perhaps one of the most unused rooms in the Tower. Most of the meetings Robin held with the Titans had been done in the Information and Recreation level. He hadn't felt the need for a formal set-up when discussing a plan on how to defeat super villains. He simply barked out his orders and they listened. When Robin conducted reports, he had them sit around the dining table, usually with a box of pizza in the middle.

But that day was different. They had important guests. They could relax later.

Starfire was somewhat surprised to note that the musty smell so often present in long-unused rooms was absent. She did, in fact, detect a hint of freshener. She wouldn't be surprised if Robin had undertaken to air the room.

The table was a wide, round disk with a huge letter T stemming from the center of it. There were about ten fixed chairs around it and they were precisely placed so there would be no seat at the top of the T or at the bottom of it. Whether it was meant to signify that all those who joined the table were equal or if it was just a random decision on the part of Cyborg, no one really ever thought to ask.

Starfire sat between Robin and Galfore while Taryia took the seat beside Galfore on the other side; Karras placed himself next to her. Beside Robin was Beast Boy and then Raven; Cyborg took the seat by hers.

"Starfire," said Robin. "You begin."

She nodded. "Now, Galfore. Please, why have you come?"

Galfore smiled. "Aside from the fact that I have been searching for you since that day you… well, disappeared en route to Tamaran from Karna?"

Starfire appreciated Galfore's sensitivity. She had told Robin about her slavery and Taryia would certainly know about it, but the rest of the Titans knew nothing. Perhaps Karras had an idea, but even if he had called her "Gord-Slave" in the past, she never really spoke of it with him extensively. For all he knew, she was merely letting him call her another one of his nasty names. "Yes, aside from that."

"The truth is, princess, your brother has been as eager to find you as I am and had given this mission Royal Priority."

"Brother?" asked Cyborg.

Starfire nodded. "Ryand'r. How fares he, Galfore?"

"Very well, princess. He has done honor to the Royal House of Korithus by passing his trials at Okaara when he became eligible for them."

"Glorious! I never doubted him! And is he—is he married?"

Galfore chuckled. "Well, he _is_ that."

"Goodness! My little brother is married!"

Beast Boy made a face. "Little brother? How old did he marry?"

"Fourteen," said Galfore.

Beast Boy whistled. "Holy shotgun wedding, Batman…"

Robin arched an eyebrow in his direction.

"Galfore," said Starfire. "Does he—does he have children?"

Galfore crossed his arms over his chest. "Well… there's the matter of making babies before his wife could have them. He is still in denial with respect to the princess your father and mother had him marry, so I do not think Ryand'r and the princess have—well, you know…" He hesitated. _"Do_ you know?"

Starfire's eyes widened and she felt the heat creep up her cheeks. What a question! She felt like melting through the floor at that very instant. "G-Galfore, of course I know."

Beast Boy laughed. "Boy Wonder here made sure—"

Someone kicked him under the table and he whimpered like a dog. He promptly disappeared beneath the table to attend to his pain. Judging by the deadly glare Robin shot him, it was evident whose boot had caught him on the shin.

Starfire tried not to pay attention to the look of impending mockery on Karras' face. Had he understood that? He wasn't supposed to. He didn't know English!

Robin cleared his throat. "Please go on, Galfore."

Galfore blinked several times before going on. "As I was saying, Ryand'r is not very happy with the marriage."

Starfire leaned over the table, her brows knotted. "His wife is—" she paused to search for a word "—difficult to like?"

"Oh, not really. In fact, she is sweet tempered, quite intelligent, lovely and she adores him, but I suppose a young man such as himself could not be expected to be thrilled about being—well, attached like that."

"And how old is he again?"

"Sixteen, princess."

Starfire flashed a look of sympathy. Even if it was the royal way of life, it didn't mean she could take it in stride. "Such is life, I suppose."

Galfore laughed. "His misery is his own doing. If he would only give in to this charming young princess…"

Raven's eyebrow arched. "He'd forget he was forced to marry her?"

"Quite frankly, lady, yes."

Galfore's matter-of-fact reply had Raven blinking in mild confusion.

"Marital problems aside," said Starfire. "Father is teaching him well? Ryand'r is expected to be Grand Ruler?"

Galfore smiled. "In every way, princess."

Starfire could not help but smile back. She was proud of Ryand'r; she was also relieved: Tamaran would not be needing her. "Then why are you here, Galfore? What brought you so far from home?"

"Ryand'r would like to see his sisters again."

Starfire took a deep breath as she leaned back on her seat.

"The Grand Ruler also wants to see his daughters."

Starfire frowned. "He said that? That he wanted to see Komand'r and I?"

Galfore's gaze flickered a heartbeat. "Yes."

"You hesitated."

He sighed. It was a deep sound from his gut. "You know your father, princess. He expresses himself differently."

She shook her head. The mere fact that her father could be so incapable of expressing affection always pinched. Neither separation nor time had helped dull the edge. "What does he want?"

"What I could tell you is merely speculation, princess. The Grand Ruler and his advisers make no confirmation of it."

"Speculate."

Galfore gave another sigh, but this one was filled with reluctance. "Your father is always open to making alliances. With his daughters there, he is freer to negotiate with other planets. There are princes there aplenty, after all."

Starfire grimaced, turning away from Galfore to ponder a moment. She caught Robin's gaze and she didn't miss the tension in his shoulders.

Cyborg's robot eye flashed. "Yo, let me get this straight. The Grand Ruler wants her there so he could have the option of marrying her off?"

Galfore reddened. Perhaps even to him, a member of the court who saw such dealings among the higher lords of Tamaran on a regular basis, the practice seemed reprehensible. "That is correct."

"It is the way of the realms."

Starfire looked up, astonished. It had been Karras, and she was surprised he had spoken at all, let alone in the English language. The look on her face must have reflected her confusion, because Karras shot her a derisive grin.

He tapped his ear. "Custom made translator. When you're in an army that absorbs language by touch, a man has to do what he can."

Starfire could only think that it was a superb translator, to have him speaking English as well as have him look like he was actually speaking it.

Taryia shrugged. "It has been the way since the beginning of Kings, Karras, but it does not mean princes and princesses embrace their fate. You should know this."

Karras made a mildly hopeless gesture. "I do not like it, but I accept it as duty. Rather than whine about the inevitable, just get the X'Hal-cursed thing over with and move on."

Starfire arched an eyebrow. That was surprisingly calm and pragmatic, coming from the Brat Prince, but she did not have to agree with him. Robin shot her a questioning glance.

"Karras is a prince," she explained. "Of Kalapatt."

Robin recognized the planet and probably remembered it from her stories. She did feel slightly uneasy of the fact that she hadn't mentioned Karras to Robin at all. She was afraid Robin would take it the wrong way.

It was Galfore's turn to look surprised, but he didn't ask about any previous meetings she may have had with Karras. Those questions could be brought up in a more private conversation.

Robin seemed even less pleased by what Karras had said. "So you're saying Starfire should go back to Tamaran?"

Karras' brows knotted. "Who?" he asked in an irritable tone.

Just for that, Robin certainly didn't oblige him. He let Karras figure it out.

Karras did, with apparent reluctance. "I am saying 'Starfire' would be doing the right thing pledging allegiance to her Grand Ruler and father like any loyal subject of the realm."

Starfire frowned. "And what sort of pacts does my father wish to forge? Is Tamaran at war? Does he need armies? Is Vega putting up some kind of united defense?"

Karras sneered. "There is no need for marriages _of that sort_ when the entire system is threatened. Armies would rise up voluntarily against a common foe. In this case, it is still the constant threat of the Citadel, but since the restoration of the realms, the Citadellians have been nothing but terrorists, unable to mount a large defense. Threat though they are, they are nothing to the unified forces of Vega. Besides, your father boasts of the best allied force in the system. He has the Tamaranians, the Kalapattians and the Hnyxxen pledging allegiance to him and Ryand'r. Euphorix has also agreed to equip all planets with force field generators in case things suddenly go very, very bad. Because he got Euphorix to cooperate, the many realms are considering pledging alliance with Tamaran."

Starfire looked at Galfore, wide-eyed. "Father commands Hnyxx?"

Last time she heard, Hnyxx adamantly refused to be commanded by anyone. But that had been at least seven years ago. Perhaps a lot could change in seven years. They were a powerful and ferocious race. Like wolves: Beastly, but extremely loyal to the pack. To have them under one's command was no small thing.

Galfore smiled. "Where do you think Sul-Dharr hails from?"

Beast Boy sighed. "This is all confusing me. Who are all these people?"

"Vegans," said Raven. "They are people from the different Vegan worlds."

Starfire recalled the look on Sul-Dharr. She had assumed he was a mix of Tamaranian and something else. It never occurred to her that he was from Hnyxx, but now that Galfore mentioned it, he was Hnyxxen; possibly pure Hnyxxen. That detail aside, she refocused her thoughts. "If the alliances are sealed, then why does my father wish me back?"

Galfore sighed and shook his head sadly. "I already told you, princess: we could only speculate. He simply said, 'Get her back here.' Quite frankly, he may as well have said 'Even if you have to drag her kicking and screaming.' He gives no reason, Koriand'r. I am willing to believe that he merely wishes to see you."

Karras arched an eyebrow. "With all due respect, captain. King Myand'r isn't exactly given to sentiment."

Galfore gave a shrug of acquiescence.

Karras went on. "We all know that the King of Garon has been stubborn of late concerning their Livestock Agreements and he has been hinting that his son has a strange fascination for the missing Tamaranian sisters. Garon is a prime supplier of Tamaran's processed meats and Grand Ruler Myand'r would never have the ties severed for anything."

Starfire's eyes flashed fire. It was bad enough that Garon wasn't even in Vega, but processed meats? "Cattle? He will have me marry a stranger for cattle?"

Karras shrugged, a smirk forming on his lips. "Well, he had Ryand'r marry for Changralyn ores."

Starfire's jaw dropped. "Ores?"

"He needs an economy to fund an army, Koriand'r. What did you think it was for? Marriages cut the costs of export products the planet cannot do without. By law of supply and demand, Garon and Changralyn could up their prices and force Tamaran to accept it, because Tamaran has no choice. Marriages, however, render such laws fallible… You know this. Why am I explaining this to you? Were you asleep when they taught this at Okaara?"

Starfire detected the first hint of their old animosity. Taryia must have noticed it because she shot Karras a scowl.

Starfire and Karras had held out fine, until now.

She forced herself to resist it, if only for the sake of everyone else who didn't have to watch them duke it out. She kept her ire in check. It was a proven fact that she got angrier a lot faster than Karras ever did so snapping back at him would do her little good. "Knowing it does not make it any easier to accept. Galfore, how is the Tamaranian economy faring?"

"The fact of the matter is it is doing quite well."

Starfire lifted her nose at Karras. "I do not think my father needs me. I wish to see my brother, and perhaps I would consent to seeing my parents, but they have to come here. I am not going back to Tamaran."

Karras pulled his gaze from her in disgust.

Galfore shrugged. "Your father might not need you, but I was sent here to bring you back, and princess, I am not returning to Tamaran empty handed."

Starfire stared at him, shocked. Galfore was supposed to be loyal only to her. Had that changed in the last few years as well? She felt a hand on her shoulder. It was Robin's.

"Starfire doesn't have to do anything she doesn't want to do. If she wants to stay here, she stays here. If you're going to use force, you're going to have to go through us."

"Be easy, my friend," said Galfore in a soothing tone. "I have no intention of taking the princess by force. I would never. I am her _k'norfka_, remember? That is an everlasting trust. I would never betray it."

Starfire was relieved to hear it and she managed a small smile. Robin's grip on her shoulder loosened.

"What is this _k'norfka,_ anyway?" asked Raven. "It binds you to Starfire. In what way?"

"He is a surrogate parent," said Starfire. "He raised me. Protected me, and he prepared me for the rigors of training in Okaara. He is my guardian in every way. If I were to become Grand Ruler, he would be amongst my advisors. _K'norfkas_ have been known to seek their own death when their charges die ahead of them."

Galfore nodded sagely. "This is why I had to find her, lady Raven. I had to know if she lives."

Beast Boy whistled. "You're a bad-ass nanny."

Cyborg sighed, hopelessly embarrassed by Beast Boy's inane commentary.

Taryia frowned. "Do not insult the captain by calling him donkey names. Do not call him bad either. He is not."

"He didn't mean bad _bad,"_ explained Cyborg desperately. "He meant bad good."

Taryia's brows knotted. "That does not make sense."

"Beast Boy seldom does," said Raven.

Beast Boy pouted. "I resent that!"

"You brought it upon yourself."

Robin hastily tried to get the subject back on track. "So if you're not planning to force her, Galfore, what do you intend to do?"

Galfore smiled wanly. "Convince her, I suppose."

"You will not be able to," said Starfire.

Galfore merely shrugged. "I did not expect you to give in so easily, princess. I'd have been disappointed if you have."

Starfire could not help but smile at that.

"Princess," said Taryia. "At the very least, give it some thought. The Marriage-Scenario is not absolute, so I would advise you not to think about that remote possibility. As the captain has pointed out, the economic and political situation of Tamaran is sound. But the fact of the matter is your Grand Ruler summons you: That ought to be enough. We traveled a long way to deliver the wishes of the Grand Ruler and undertake it. To this day, we haven't a single failed mission to tarnish our record. We will not let our trip here mar that record."

There was no resentment in Taryia's tone, but there was no mistaking it: She took it all very seriously. However understanding she was of Starfire's plight, she had a task, and she was going to get it done.

"Noted, _Taryia dai Rulad_. The ways of the Vegan realms expect me to follow the wishes of my ruler; this I acknowledge, but Galfore taught me better than that. This, you and Karras should know."

They did, and at last, they fell silent.

_To be continued…_


	9. Jurumad, Rulad and S'lor

**Pronunciation guide and glossary:**

_K'lorlian__ – _kuh-LORE-lee-yan; meaning: princess

_Fahr__ – _fa-HAR; used as a function to indicate belonging or a possessive relationship; "of the" or "to the"

_S'lor__ – _suh-LORE; meaning: a Tamaranian prince's or princess's official recognized consort (Read entire definition in the story.)

Jurumad – JOO-roo-mad; meaning: Captain (in the Tamaranian army) 

_Rulad_ – ROO-lad; meaning: One below the rank of captain (in the Tamaranian army); Second Lieutenant.

_Gelroid__ – _GEL-royd, where the "G" is the hard g of "get"; meaning: a Kalapattian venereal disease.

_Welsnirch__, Leegort, Blathernert _and _Vortsnot__ – _Pronounce them as badly as you want to; meaning: every single word means something utterly demeaning.

Standard disclaimers apply

**PATH TO TAMARAN**

**Chapter Nine – Jurumad, Rulad and S'lor**

Galfore's eyes widened at the vision that was an Earth sunset.

Starfire giggled at the look on his face. She knew he would be amazed by it.

They were on the roof of the tower and they had been talking for the past few hours, for indeed, there had been much to tell.

Having gotten the important matters over with in the conference room, she took Galfore to the roof, half a dozen cans of soda in hand, and told each other of their adventures in the past eight years of their separation.

They had been so absorbed telling, laughing and smiling that Starfire had been just as surprised about the sunset as Galfore was. She had been astonished of the time, but Galfore had been astonished by the captivating colors.

The dispersion of light splashed purple, red and pink on the puffy white clouds. The ball of fire that was the sun glowed a fiery orange as it sank into the bay.

A light breeze blew, kissing away the dull heat wrought on their skin by the last rays of the setting sun.

He looked so at peace; so serene. She had planned to discuss Blackfire with him, but seeing him now, she hadn't the heart to bring up such a dire topic. Surely, he had gotten her messages regarding Blackfire, but he was yet to address it. Perhaps he was reluctant to go into the details.

"It is a glorious sight," said Galfore in Tamaranian. "If only for the sunset, I understand why you chose to stay on Earth."

She smiled and responded in the same language. "There are other more compelling reasons."

Galfore nodded. "From what you have told me, this world needs heroes."

"That it does, but sometimes I wonder if I had stayed, fighting for the people, if I didn't have such wonderful friends. Sometimes, the evil is so overwhelming. Without them, the villains would have ripped my sanity apart piece by piece."

"Your friends are strong."

"Sometimes I think they are stronger than me."

Galfore arched an eyebrow. "Impossible."

Starfire laughed. "You would think so, but having seen the things I've seen, they are extraordinary. I have seen them do impossible things because they _had _to; because the fate and safety of the people depended on it."

He fell silent, perhaps pondering her words. She couldn't blame him if he found it hard to imagine; that the Titans were more extraordinary than they looked, after all, most of them were smaller than most of the Tamaranians that came. Even Cyborg, the tallest of them all, was only as tall as Karras and only slightly taller than Taryia. And then of course there was Beast Boy, whose clownish ways and small physique always made him look pitifully harmless. She knew better, of course, but only because she had seen him in battle. Beast Boy did not transform into a Tyrannosaurus Rex or Grizzly Bear just so he could prove he wasn't as harmless as he looked.

"This Robin," said Galfore. "You called him your dearest friend. Just a friend?"

Starfire felt the warm blush creep up her cheeks. "No. Of course not. You knew what it meant when I called him that."

_"K'lorlian fahr s'lor?" _

Starfire gasped, but fell to chuckling almost immediately following. The words were intensely Tamaranian; words one would hear only from a fellow Tamaranian and could only be thought of in its original form. Translating them in another language did the words little justice. "I had not discussed it with him. It does not count if I have not talked about it, correct?"

"I suppose so. But why not? It is an honor any man would aspire for, princess."

"Maybe a Tamaranian man would feel that way, but Robin is not Tamaranian. Besides, I did not think it all that significant here… at least not in the way it is significant in Tamaran."

_S'lor _roughly meant "First in all; first in heart". _K'lorlian__ fahr s'lor _meant "First in all; first in heart, to the Princess." It was very significant in Tamaran and Tamaranian royalty, mainly because Princesses and Princes were often married off by their parents, usually to someone who wasn't their _s'lor. _If one was _s'lor, _it meant he or she held a position even higher than the betrothed in matters of the heart and the relationship in general. So if, for example, the princess had to marry the prince from the neighboring planet, her _s'lor _had a voice in the care of her. Her _s'lor _may be her confidante, advisor, lover and best friend. He may overrule the decisions of the husband when the decision pertained to her well-being; he may challenge the husband should the husband mistreat her. This worked the same way with a prince's _s'lor. _It was not a privilege exclusive to male _s'lor. _Female _s'lor _were, in fact, known to be more vicious about it than the males were. It was however important to emphasize that on matters pertaining to politics, the _s'lor _had absolutely no right to make demands over the husband or wife.

It got a bit complicated when the off-spring came. Male _s'lor _begot heirs through the princess, and by law, any off-spring born within marriage of the princess to her husband would be considered children of the husband and therefore legitimate members of the royal family. Female _s'lor _did not have the same automatic privilege for their children. Children born of the female _s'lor _had to be acknowledged by the father-prince, and even if he did acknowledge them, they had last rights to the succession of the throne.

While _s'lor _have been a part of royal policy and culture in Tamaran for centuries, it has, admittedly, become a source of strife through the generations. It was for this reason that many princes or princesses avoided having _s'lor _in the first place, but as was often the case, it was not something one could particularly help. It was abolished once, about one hundred and fifty years ago. The chaos it caused was terrible, because instead of having _s'lor _out in the open, where their influence over their respective princes and princesses could be watched over and regulated, they had to be kept secret, therefore they were either abused or they became more powerful, often harmfully so. Upon the reinstatement of _s'lor, _the running of the monarchy returned to its relatively smooth course.

"Remember," continued Starfire. "I am not a princess here. On Earth, I am but a girl and he is a boy. He is my 'boyfriend'. Special. I love him dearly and maybe I am glad he does not have to be subject to the title of _s'lor. _You must understand; even in Tamaran, _s'lor _do not find it easy to share their loved one with a neighboring prince or princess, particularly if the _s'lor _is not of the noble class. Here on Earth, most cultures believe in marrying the person you love and being faithful to that one person, otherwise, the marriage is worth severing. It is a predominant culture here in America, this land we are in, and Robin grew up in this culture. He would not like the idea of _s'lor _simply because it implies that I will be marrying someone else."

Galfore shrugged in silent acquiescence. "He is good to you?"

"He is. He takes care of me, maybe a bit too much, sometimes."

"He makes you happy?"

"Very much so."

Galfore smiled, nodding. "Then I wish you all the best with him, _s'lor _or no."

"Thank you, Galfore. That means a lot to me."

"Do you mind if I explain to Taryia and Karras? They will ask me. They dare not ask you."

"I do not mind in the least if you explain it to them, _s'lor _title notwithstanding. But as to daring to ask me… Taryia might not dare, but Karras would likely have no qualms; that is, if he even cares to know at all."

Galfore looked thoughtful in response to her words. "Did you have _something _with Karras, princess?"

Starfire grimaced. "It depends on what you mean by 'something'. We share a mutual aberration for one another. I do not think four years of separation had dulled the edge of our dislike."

"But you had a relationship before?"

Starfire actually felt annoyed that Galfore would think such a thing possible. Did she look like one of Karras' bimbo women? The hairs on her back rose at the mere thought of her having a relationship with Karras the way she had it with Robin. "Auron's Get, no."

Galfore blinked at the curse. It was one of the worse curses in Tamaran. She was never quite one to swear, but on certain occasions, she had found it was the only way to express her feelings, but not always, as evidence by Galfore's astonishment. "Well, that is a little extreme. Karras hardly deserves that kind of reaction."

"You did not know him when I knew him."

"Perhaps not. He did not join the Tamaranian army until three Earth years ago, and he has been in my unit for an even shorter time, but he has been a soldier since he was fifteen. He is a good man."

Starfire supposed Galfore would think a man who had dedicated his adult life to being a soldier good. In Karras' case, she could even admit it meant more considering he could have hidden behind his royalty to avoid service. But having had to endure him for six months, in his natural habitat, no less, she found it difficult to consider anything else _but _his behavior in her presence. She had seen him act the brat and break women's hearts. He had called her names and he had shown no delicacy in his treatment of her. He had never been seriously malicious or cruel, but he treated her like a hated rival, which was only a little better than someone he detested like he would a pebble in his shoe.

"If you say so, Galfore," was her only response.

Galfore gave her a pointed glance. She shrugged.

"So how did you meet Karras?" he asked while drinking in the sunset. He seemed to be enjoying himself, the wind in his hair, the colors playing in the horizon.

She cocked a smile. It wasn't a fond memory, but on hindsight, it was quite amusing, especially in view of the fact that Galfore wouldn't have stood for it, or perhaps wouldn't believe it. She gave him the edited version. "I went to Kalapatt to deliver a message from a friend of mine. It was to be delivered to the royal family so I went to their castle and met the prince there. They let me stay."

"Hm," he said. "I wonder why they never told us."

Starfire's brows knotted. _Yes… I wonder why. _There was something definitely amiss in all of it and she was half-certain Karras had everything to do with it. She wasn't particularly upset because after all, she hadn't wanted to be found, but she was terribly curious. What game was Karras playing? "I wonder why _he_ never told _you."_

"Yes, I have been wondering about that myself. I will take it up with him later."

She nodded.

It grew darker as the hour wore on and soon, the sun was almost completely gone for the day.

"You will need some time to rest, Galfore. I will lead you to a guest room. You will stay for the night, yes?" She flashed him a pleading look, half wondering if he would still give in to it the way he always used to.

He did. He smiled and patted her head. "Of course, my little _bunggorf. _I would be delighted. I will need to have one of my men bring our things, but tell your leader I need his clearance first."

"I will see to that immediately!"

"Good. Then I am ready to stay for the night."

"Glorious! You will like the room I chose for you. It faces the East, so you could watch the sun rise from the window. I promise, it is as beautiful as sunset."

She led him back down into the Tower as darkness began to blanket the sky.

88888888888888888888

Starfire left Galfore in his room to give him time to relax. She told him that she would call him for dinner and that if he needed anything, she would be in the Info and Recreation level. She was _slightly _concerned about the amount of pizza they would need to feed two additional full-grown Tamaranian soldiers, but she was too glad about having had a nice long talk with Galfore to worry overmuch. She didn't even bother to worry about the Kalapattian.

She resolved to make Galfore a peanut butter and jelly sandwich… or six, for a light snack. He would appreciate Earth cuisine.

_Perhaps the gallon of milk is not expired yet… oh dear, I must do some shopping or Cyborg will be much displeased. _

When the doors of the elevator opened to the Info and Rec level, her wide smile was quickly extinguished at the sight of Karras leaning on the kitchen counter. He had a can of soda in his hand and he was examining it.

Everyone else was too busy doing something else to attend to him. Beast Boy and Cyborg were talking to Taryia while Robin and Raven manned the computers from their workstations.

She would have to make sandwiches with Karras hovering in background. She didn't have to speak with him after all; at least not in front of the others.

Robin looked up and met gazes with her. "How's Galfore doing?"

She smiled. "Settled in. I will make him some sandwiches and perhaps after I am done with that, I could help you and Raven."

He shrugged, flashing a small, lopsided grin. "Take your time. You haven't seen each other for eight years."

"Besides," said Raven. "There are least a couple of bozos who could fill in for you… if we could get them to stop flirting with the 'hot alien chick'."

Robin gave a barely audible chuckle. "What, I can't flirt with my girlfriend for two seconds?"

Starfire giggled.

Raven flashed him a sardonic look. "You know who I mean."

"Maybe I'll bust their chops later," said Robin with a contained grin. "Go on ahead, Starfire. Raven and I have things under control."

Starfire nodded. She told Robin about Galfore wanting permission to have one of his men bring their overnight things. Robin gave permission without hesitation. Her more important errand done, she went to the kitchen.

She walked past Karras without a glance and started rummaging the cupboards for the bread, peanut butter and some Smuckers Blueberry Jam. She found them all easily enough and plopped them on the counter to get her materials. She had the butter knife, serving plate and work-board ready for use in seconds.

Starfire began to assemble the sandwiches.

"This is a strange drink," said Karras all of a sudden. He had the can raised to eye-level and he was studying it intently. "You and your Earth people are strange."

She ignored him, taking out the loaves of bread and laying them out on the board. She took umbrageat having Karras call Earth people "strange". She happened to like Earth people. She was dating one of them.

"What does this can say? What do these characters mean? Does anybody actually read this?" he continued. He was being a jackass and he knew it.

Starfire arched an eyebrow but did not look at him, focusing instead on her work. She realized, though, that while his translator worked for spoken words, it couldn't translate the written ones. She was in no mood to teach him how to read. "You could ask Beast Boy to attach you to a language database. It will teach you how to read. A five year old could learn it so I assume you will not have a very hard time." She hadn't meant to make that crack in the end; it came out unbidden; one of the many effects Karras had on her bad side.

His own eyebrow arched and he looked over his shoulder before he leaned over to speak to her in a whispering tone. "Oh, very nice, Koriand'r. Is being a smart-mouth one of the many diseases you picked up traveling the galaxies?" At least he had the sense of propriety to keep their bickering between the two of them.

She gritted her teeth, lowering her own voice. "Speaking of diseases, Karras, how are your _gelroids__?"_

His eyes widened, as if horrified at what she'd said, before he let the shocked expression melt away to nothing. "I don't know what you're talking about."

She scowled. "Oh, please. Do not pretend. Ladies-in-Waiting talk!"

His frown returned. He was caught and there was no use denying it. _"She _was the one who gave it to me, you know."

He was talking about Lenira, the Lady-in-Waiting who liked "talking," particularly when it concerned midnight trysts with the prince, so Starfire knew that there was truth to what Karras had said, but she wasn't about to agree with him. "It is your own fault that you use that—that _thing _wherever, whenever and with _whoever."_

Karras laughed a tad louder. "Oho! _Thing, _is it? Preachy, preachy. You don't even _like _Lenira."

She glared at him. "Well, I like you even less. And do please step away from the sandwiches. I do not want you contaminating Galfore's food."

"First of all, I was cured of _Lenira's_disease even before you left Kalapatt. Second of all, you couldn't tell me what to do then and you sure as Auron's Get couldn't tell me what to do _now, _wench."

Starfire's eyes blazed at the name, but she pursed her lips and continued to make sandwiches, slapping the peanut butter and the jelly on the bread with emphatic strokes. "Tell me, you _klor-bak__ varbler nelk, _why did you lie about sending a message to Tamaran of my whereabouts? I know you never sent such a message, though you told me you did. Galfore knows nothing of our meeting and it is not something my parents would keep secret from him if they knew. If you wanted me to leave, which I assume you knew I would do, you should have told me like a man. I knew you were a brat, Karras, but a coward?"

Karras scoffed. "You're right. I didn't really tell them, but I would have if you had expressed a desire to go home. It served my interests more to pretend that I told them. I could have made it so you'd think you owed me a favor. But mostly, I just didn't want you to think I needed to consult you on the matter of telling Tamaran of your whereabouts; lest you delude yourself into thinking that I actually respect you."

"Believe me when I say that gaining your respect ranks way, way, _way _below my list of priorities."

The volume of their voices had gone just another notch higher. They weren't speaking loud enough to hit normal, but they weren't whispering anymore, either.

Starfire was bordering on not caring about what the others might think. Karras had, like always, unearthed the worse of her and he wasn't done unleashing it. As it was, they were already beginning to get strange looks from the others.

He made a grimace, like he was about to laugh, but not really. "Well, I always thought your priorities were a little rutted up." He made balancing scales out of his hands, tipping it to the left. "Live a life of luxury as a princess or—" he tipped the scale to the right "—wander the galaxies with nothing but the clothes on my back. Hm! Decisions, decisions… I know! I'll wander dirt poor! It's better than living in a palace with servants at my beck and call."

She gave an affected sigh as she continued with her work. "Do not hate me for having principles, Karras. Goodness, _some people…"_

"I'm just saying," he said with a superior shrug.

"Well, I suppose people kissing your you-know-what the entire day and then having them wipe it for you always suited you better than it ever did me."

"Could I help it if they adore me? It isn't like I could put a stopper on my charisma. You know what that is, don't you? Charisma? Well, you have to have it to fully understand what it is. You might know what I'm talking about some day."

"I would swear by it, Karras. They probably have to pop your head with a pin to let all that air out whenever it gets too big for your crown."

"Well, excuse me Ms. I Won't Go Back to Tamaran Because I'm Too Important to be Married Off to a Cow Herd."

"You see," she began, raising the butter knife and stabbing it in the air in his direction. "That is the difference between you and me. I have _standards. You _just go after anything that strokes your—well, ego. That is why you get _gelroids_—" she punctuated it with a sneer "—and I do not."

_That _got to him. Nobody, not even Karras, wanted to be reminded that he once had a sexually transmitted disease. It was repulsive and humiliating. He got over the first hurdle of it, but this second one was a bit harder to take in stride.

He shook his head, a deadly glare settling in his eyes. He was going to pull out the big guns: name-calling. _"Welsnirch."_

She glared back, anger suffusing her. _"Leegort."_

_"Blathernert."_

Worse and worse. Her fist clenched._"Vortsnot__!"_

"Wench."

_"Man-whore!"_

_"Gord-Slave."_

Starfire thought it an absolute outrage. _"Gelroid-Get!"_

He smiled, but it was more like a baring of fangs. Whatever he was going to say, he knew it was going to be good. _"Glempork!"_

It was about as good as he wanted it to be and as bad as Starfire could stand. The contempt she had for him so many years ago resurfaced, full-force. Every single time she held back because she was in _his _home rose screaming for retribution. She was horribly provoked, but this time, he was in _her_ house. Nobody called her _glempork _and got away with it.

She slid the sandwiches aside, gave a loud growl and jumped him over the counter.

They were both yelling as they crashed to the floor, both of them completely blind to the fact that they had shocked everyone senseless by the sudden outburst of violence. They rolled over one another, holding each other by the collar. Starfire found herself on her back, his hands pinning her.

She kicked him hard on his shin and he gave a howl of anguish, crumpling around himself. She scrambled out from beneath him, but he pulled her by the hair and flipped her face down, locking her arm behind her.

"You hit like a girl!" he rasped through his pain.

She roared, trying to kick him off her. "I _am _a girl, you stupid… inane…"

"Could have fooled me, you _tomboy!"_

She craned her free arm at just the right angle and loosed a low-charge bolt that sent him sliding across the floor. It made him furious the way her spiteful words never could.

"That's it!" he yelled, scrambling to his feet. _"No more holding back!"_

Starfire rose into the air, hands charged. She might have heard someone calling Raven's name, but she paid it no heed. She was too overcome with roiling anger to care. "Come and get it, _Brat Prince!"_

They were about to jump at each other when Starfire felt a dark force wrapping around her. She yelped as she became completely incapacitated, thinking only that Karras was going to have the advantage over her.

She began to regain reasonable thought when she saw that Karras was just as incapacitated as she was.

They both dropped to the floor with a thump and an "Ouch!"

Karras struggled to get free. "Koriand'r, release me, this instant!"

"It is not my doing you lack-wit!_" _She looked up, an instant change coming to her when she addressed the empath. She became pleasant and polite. "Raven, please remove these—"

Raven shrugged. "I would, you understand. You were strangely entertaining, but Robin—"

"That's right, I told her to put them," said Robin sternly. He stalked to Starfire's side. He crouched down and his brows knotted. He held out his hands, palms up as he seemed to search for words before he gave up and sighed. _"What _is going on?"

She pouted. _"He _started it."

_"What?" _cried Karras. "You _bitch!"_

Taryia gave a horrified gasp. "Karras!"

Robin whirled around and shot him a glare. "Call her that again and I'll make sure you couldn't talk out of that mouth for a month."

"You _can't _tell me what to do."

"Yes, I can. This is _my _tower and I am the captain of _this _unit. Around here, even Galfore would consult with me before he does anything."

"You could kiss my—"

"Go ahead. Insult me. I want you to."

Karras scowled but had the presence of mind at least to know when to shut up.

Beast Boy stepped into view, gaping. "I swear they were going to kill each other… their eyes had murder written all over—"

Cyborg sighed. "BB, let's not get melodramatic."

A smile wiped away the shocked look on Beast Boy's face. "But you have to admit that would've sounded really cool."

"I guess so."

Taryia shook her head, crouching by Karras. "I cannot believe he attacked the princess."

"Hey!" Karras' scowl deepened. "Why are you all taking her side? _She_ attacked me first!"

"Look," said Robin with deadly gravity. "I don't care who started it and I don't care who attacked first. I won't have fighting like that in the tower if I can help it. This place takes enough abuse from the bad guys and I _hate _when that happens; so don't push it. Am I clear on this or do I have to keep the both of you bound like this for another hour?"

Raven arched an eyebrow but said nothing.

Starfire's brows knotted in worry. Robin didn't look angry; she has seen him angry, but he looked terribly displeased, which was almost as bad. She hadn't been thinking. She had let Karras provoke her ire and she had provoked him in turn. It was exactly that way four years ago when they had to endure one another. Nothing had changed. If souls could be mated in love, then the same could be said for sheer incompatibility. She couldn't help being irked by every single thing he said. She couldn't help the nasty words that tumbled out of her mouth when she spoke to him. It was nothing like the impersonal banter Robin and Raven exchanged. This was pure spite; each word designed to spear the very core of each other's dignity.

"I am sorry," she said in a tiny voice. She meant the apology for Robin and her friends; never for Karras. "I will be good now as long as _he _behaves himself."

"Oh, he'll behave himself, alright," Robin muttered. He looked up at Raven and nodded.

She removed Starfire's bindings.

Starfire pushed herself gracefully off the floor and saw that Karras was still bound. She fought back a sneer, scolding herself mentally for having acted like such a child. Now that she was regaining her senses, she was beginning to feel horribly embarrassed.

"Please," said Taryia. "Remove the bindings from Karras. I will vouch for his behavior."

Raven arched a questioning eyebrow at Robin. He gave a nod and the bindings were gone.

Perhaps taking care not to jolt his abused muscles, he got to his feet carefully. He was standing at full height in a few seconds, though he looked a bit disheveled from the tussle.

"I'll let Galfore deal with _you," _said Robin. He was several inches shorter than Karras, but size was never an issue for the Boy Wonder. Robin had wrestled Cinderblock to the ground, got on the back of giant mechanical worms to disarm them and went head to head with a controlling ex-assassin mad-man. With that kind of body count to his name, Starfire knew almost nothing could intimidate Robin. Some days, she was even prone to thinking that Batman didn't scare him, but that was a different story altogether.

Standing in front of Karras and telling him off was no easy task. Karras was _Rulad _and he was up for _Jurumad_. Men like Karras did not take kindly to authority from someone who didn't fall in the ranks, and while he looked pretty, he could look fierce when he wanted to.

He stared Robin down, but he didn't know it took more than a look to scare the leader of the Titans.

Karras sneered. "Are you going to tell me off while you're wearing tights?"

Robin's eyebrow arched. "Are you going to act like a dick while you're wearing a skirt?"

Karras blinked, obviously caught by surprise. His cassock-type uniform wasn't a skirt, but it had all the makings of one. He turned absolutely red in the face.

It took everything in Starfire's willpower not to laugh. She wanted to say, "Good one, Robin!" but she supposed he wouldn't approve of that in his present mood.

Robin pulled his gaze away from Karras, a slight frown on his face. "I don't have time for you. You're Galfore's responsibility; not mine. Starfire? Training room, _now."_

_Oh dear, _she thought, biting her lip as she followed him.

She could hear Taryia speaking to—or rather scolding—Karras in Kalapattian. He began to respond in kind. No doubt, he had switched off his translator, or else she would be hearing his words in English.

But that wasn't Starfire's problem right now. She was going to hear some from Robin, and she wasn't looking forward to it.

When they were closed in the training room, Robin turned to face her. "Starfire… _what the hell?"_

Heat crept up her face and she found herself twiddling her fingers. "I did not mean for it to get out of hand, but these terrible things were coming out of my mouth and I couldn't stop. I had this overwhelming feeling of anger inside me and it wasas ifthere was this little voice in my head telling me that I should… I should punch his face in!"

Robin blinked several times, perhaps wondering who she was and what she had done with Starfire. Seconds later, he seemed to have found some semblance of coherent thought. "That behavior was totally unacceptable. Not only were you willing to wreck whatever during the brawl but you could've seriously hurt him. You could've hurt _each other."_

Starfire began an awkward explanation. "Well, we never really—_seriously _hurt… just a few scrapes and burns… he's strong too, you know. It is not as if he was ever outmatched…"

He sighed, rolling his eyes. "That's _so _beside the point right now. I can't have you doing that in the tower, or anywhere else for that matter. Control yourself. I don't care if he provokes you or starts the fight. If he doesn't want to back down, you will. Understand?"

"But—"

"Kori," he said calmly. "I'm not really angry, which is weird. I should be piss-freakin' outraged now, but I'm not. Right now, I just feel like you're a straight-A student who has never gotten in trouble except for this one time. You never caused trouble like this and you're always the first one to promote peace. I couldn't be angry with you for this even if I wanted to, but if you do this again, I'm going to be really upset."

She knew "upset" was a huge understatement.

"Next time, I'll expect better from you. How do you think Galfore would feel if he saw you like that?"

She flushed. "He would be utterly disgraced."

"There you go." His voice was even; his delivery effective. His quiet wisdom did more for her than any yelling he could have done.

"I will not lose control again, Richard. I will not—" she gritted her teeth "—I will not let him goad me again. I promise." She knew it was going to require a tremendous amount of patience and discipline, but she supposed she could do it. She did not want to disgrace Galfore _or _Robin.

He nodded, satisfied. He seemed to give her a few more seconds to absorb their discussion before he spoke again. "What was this guy to you anyway? Why does he get you that angry? Did youhave _something _with him before?"

She felt like Robin had thrown cold water in her face. It was perhaps the worse possible thing he could think of her "relationship" with Karras. "Oh X'Hal, _never," _she said with a shudder. "Why do people automatically assume that when a man and a woman are fighting they had or _have _something? Could not two people just hate each other anymore? Goodness!"

Robin stared at her a moment before turning away. He actually looked embarrassed. "Alright, I'm sorry. Just that you didn't tell me about him and you had this _look _on your face in the conference room when you told everyone he was the prince of Kalapatt. I remembered the story, Kori. You were in Kalapatt, and at first I was willing to think that he wasn't important enough for you to have mentioned before, but after what I saw out there in the kitchen, I don't know anymore."

"Be jealous of anyone but him, Robin. From the moment we laid eyes on each other, we never had a decent conversation. Six months living in his castle—"

He emitted a sound, like he choked on something. "Six months? A-Are you _shitting _me?"

Starfire sighed. "Please, let me finish."

He made a gesture, as if to tell her she could do whatever she wanted.

She flinched, but she did continue. "As I was saying, six months and none of our conversations ended amicably. Would you like to know how we met?"

"Is it important?"

"Well, if it will get rid of the ridiculous notion of Karras and me… ugh!"

He frowned. "Fine."

She settled herself on one of the wooden benches set along the training room wall. "I had just arrived in Kalapatt and I fell asleep in the royal stable. I didn't know it was the royal stable at the time, or else I would have gone up to the castle doors and actually presented myself. It was late and I was tired, so I just decided to get some sleep. _He _was the one who woke me and I was so surprised that I—I fired a few starbolts. He was not very pleased with that, of course, so he had his men tie my wrists, but they forgot my feet so I—" she coughed "—kicked him _there."_

"There?"

"In the groin."

No response from Robin.

She went on. "Naturally he was not the least bit happy about that either. He had my feet tied but I spat in his face and he got very, very angry. He dragged me halfway across the castle grounds and down in the dungeons on my behind and threw me into a holding cell. He cut my bindings and had food sent over, but he kept me under lock and key until his mother could see me. That was at least another ten hours."

The stubborn look of jealousy on Robin's face had faded into a shocked disbelief. "Jesus."

"The prophet?"

"N-No… his mother took care of you from there?"

"Yes. I think that really annoyed him, how he disliked me so much and how his mother adored me. I suppose some of it was my fault. Whenever his mother found favor with me, I somewhat rubbed it in his face, especially when she was critical of him… my goodness." A faraway look fell upon her face. "I must have been so _awful. _No wonder he despises me."

Robin watched her, dazed by her words, but he recovered quickly, shaking the stupor from his eyes. Whatever suspicions he may have had for Karras and her seemed to be waning incredibly fast at the wake of her story. "Okay, fine. Right now, thinking of you and Karras as a couple seems awfully ridiculous."

"I am glad we have an accord."

"But remember your promise, Kori. I'm counting on you to keep it."

She nodded, her smile finally returning. "I will not let you down, Richard!"

"That's good to hear. Now, I don't suppose I could get you and Karras to apologize to one another—"

She scowled. "Do not make me apologize to that oaf first! I won't have it! He could apologize to _me _and _maybe _I will consider apologizing to him."

Robin put his hands up, as if to show he had nothing up his sleeve. "It was just a suggestion. Don't need to bite my head off."

She simmered, blushing. "My apologies for being snappish. He brings out the worse in me."

"He has to be a mega-jerk to bring out the worse in you."

"Oh, he could be, I suppose, but I believe I bring out the worse in him as well. Galfore seems to think him a stellar character, so Taryia might feel the same. She might be saying I am a mega—well, he called me _that _earlier."

"I heard."

Peace-loving as she was—generally—she took an almost twisted pleasure in having heard Robin threaten to break Karras' jaw for calling her a bitch. She didn't need anyone defending her honor all that much; in fact, she hadn't expected it of Robin when practically everyone in Bludhaven was trying to disrespect her, but this time, perhaps because it was Karras, she really enjoyed his show of valor.

She wondered if Robin would have done it; break his jaw. A moment later, she realized that Robin didn't make idle threats, especially when he was actually being jealous.

They walked back into the common room. Karras and Taryia weren't there.

"Where are the _rulad__?" _asked Starfire.

Cyborg looked up from his workstation. "I think they went to the roof."

Beast Boy hopped up on his seat, leaning his arms on the backrest. "You should've heard Taryia. She was wicked angry; like she was going to tear his head off. She didn't care _who _was listening."

"They care about each other."

All heads turned to Raven.

Starfire made a face but said nothing. She shrugged and went to the kitchen counter where the sandwiches were laid out, untouched. If Taryia wanted to be attached to someone like Karras, that was her business.

She felt a familiar, psychic touch. It was Raven. She shot Raven a questioning gaze.

Raven shrugged. "You could care less about Taryia and Karras, couldn't you?"

Starfire frowned but was ready to forgive Raven the invasion just because of the subtle look of relief she noticed passing Robin's face. Any remaining doubts he may have had were completely wiped away at Raven's words. "Well, of course! What did you think?"

"I dunno. They did it in _Cheers."_

"Please, I do not understand."

Beast Boy laughed. "It was a sitcom. Girl fights guy; guy fights girl, but they're actually attracted to one another and end up together somewhere down the episodes."

Starfire rolled her eyes and shook her head. "You see, Robin? This is what I am talking about."

Robin shrugged, tapping Cyborg's shoulder to take his place on the work-panel; it wasn't Cyborg's shift until later. "Hey, what can I say? Everyone loves a fighting couple."

"Just to remind everyone," said Cyborg. "The show's ratings dropped when they got together so they had to break the two up."

"It's always downhill after the first kiss," said Raven.

Robin arched an eyebrow in Starfire's direction and she stifled a giggle. They said nothing, letting Raven have her depressing philosophies.

Raven caught them exchanging a look and her face deadpanned even more. "Oh, excuse me. I guess not _always."_

"Why Raven," said Cyborg, a smirk blossoming from his lips. "Are you actually saying you believe in lo—"

"I don't want to talk about it."

Chuckles rose up around her but they left her alone. Getting Raven to admit to feeling warm and fuzzy was about as fun as having one's teeth pulled out.

Starfire took the plate of sandwiches in her hands and drifted to the refrigerator for the gallon of milk. Galfore would not be needing a glass. "Now, if you will excuse me, I owe my _k'norfka _daughterly affection. I will be back shortly."

"Take all the time you need," said Robin.

She smiled, appreciating his sensitivity.

Starfire made her way back to the chamber levels, Earth-cuisine in hand. She didn't expect to take too long. Galfore might be asleep when she dropped in.

He was. She put his sandwiches and milk on his bedside table and left a note, suggestion he should have some, and that it was delicious. She also mentioned that Robin had been properly informed of the delivery party for their things.

Galfore snored up a storm. He must have been very tired.

She looked at the silver peppering his hair and wished he hadn't worried so much for her; but he did, and she couldn't take that back.

Pulling the covers over him, she turned off the lights in the room as she let him rest. It must have been a long eight years for her _k'norfka_

88888888888888888888888888

The next time everyone converged was at dinner, and there were so many boxes of pizza that Cyborg thought he had died and gone to heaven. Beast Boy, in his own right, ordered two boxes of veggie-pizza.

Whatever animosity Starfire and Karras had for one another did not come-up at dinner. They mutually avoided eye-contact with one another and exchanged absolutely no words.

"It's called a pizza," said Robin. "The chef makes a crust then puts toppings on it, usually tomato-sauce, cheese and processed meats. Then when it's assembled, he puts it in an oven to cook. He takes it out, cuts it up and everybody eats. It goes great with soda."

Cyborg had already opened another box for himself and Beast Boy was already working on his veggie order.

Galfore eyed the pizza and Taryia peered on over beside him. Karras sat to the other side of her, watching them with a bemused expression.

"It certainly smells good," said Galfore. "Princess, is it as delicious as those 'sandwiches' you left for me in my room?"

Starfire smiled. "You will like this pizza."

Galfore seemed pleased. He imitated the way Cyborg ate his pizza, which was two slices slapped together and eaten like a sandwich.

Taryia's brows knotted. "Must it always be eaten two at a time?"

"Only if you're as big as they are," said Raven, daintily taking a slice of her own.

Taryia eagerly copied her.

Starfire and Robin dug in. Karras seemed like he was just going to sit there, but he gave a startled jerk on his seat all of a sudden, as if someone had pinched him, and he immediately responded by taking his own pizza slice.

Everyone seemed to like it, even the unsociable prince. Galfore was actually enjoying himself and was fast going through his second box of pizza. Cyborg, a pizza-slice record holder, was beginning to get competitive. He had to defend his title and he had already shoved several dollar bills in Stafire's hands.

"Go get more pizza," he said.

Starfire sighed. She was always a natural choice for fast delivery.

Robin was already about to tell Cyborg to quit it, just so Starfire didn't have to fly all the way to the city, when she stopped him and said she would be go and do it.

"I could do it for you, Your Highness," said Taryia.

Starfire blinked in surprise. It took her a few more seconds to respond. "Thank you, but you do not have to, Taryia. You do not even know where it is."

"Then I shall go with you. It is inappropriate for a princess to fly off unescorted."

"But I do it all the time."

"Not anymore. You did not have the Royal Guard available then, princess. Now we are here."

"You are not the Royal Guard. You are a soldier of the Imperial Legion."

"Our primary directive is to protect Tamaran, its people and the royal family. You are of the royal family. I shall be Royal Guard for this moment. It will be an honor, Your Highness."

Robin, Raven and Beast Boy each raised an eyebrow.

Starfire sighed. She still found it all very embarrassing, but she had to endure it with dignity. "Very well. But Taryia, you must try to 'lighten up' as they say in this planet."

"Lighten up?" asked Taryia. "You mean like with starbolts?"

"N-No. I mean—oh, never mind." It was disconcerting. Usually, _she _was the one who had questions about Earth metaphors and expression, but now here she was, trying to teach someone else and failing miserably at it. "Come. We must hurry, or Cyborg and Galfore will run out of pizzas."

Both Tamaranians rose into the air.

"We will be quick," said Starfire.

"Be careful out there," said Robin. It was always a risk for any one of them going out of the tower alone. Super-villains thought they could only function as a team and couldn't defend themselves alone. It was a common super-villain mistake, but it didn't mean the Titans couldn't get hurt.

Taryia bowed to him formally. "Worry not, Robin _dai__ s'lor. _I am _Rulad. _I shall protect the princess with my life."

"What did you call me?"

"Taryia, we must go," said Starfire, dragging the woman by the arm. The last thing she wanted to do was explain to Robin what a _s'lor _was.

She flew them swiftly out of the tower doors and over the bay separating the tower from the mainland. Nights in Jump City were never dark. The city was always alive with lights from the buildings and the constantly busy streets.

Starfire tried to engage Taryia in casual conversation. "It is pretty, yes?"

Taryia seemed surprised that she had been addressed. "Yes princess, it is." It sounded mechanical.

"Please, do not agree just because I am a princess."

Confusion fell upon Taryia's face. "Very well, then no, it is not pretty."

Starfire blinked. "Really? You do not like how it looks?"

"You told me to disagree."

Starfire sighed. "Well, I did, but only if you really disagree, not because I told you to."

"I do not understand."

"Taryia, here on Earth, I am not a princess anymore. I have stopped believing I was princess since I left Tamaran eight years ago. You need not treat me like one. And even if I _were _to act the princess, I would not want you to agree or disagree blindly to whatever I have to say. I value your honest opinion just as much as I value that of captains' and team leaders'."

Understanding crept into Taryia's gaze and after a few moments of silence, she nodded. "You possess the wisdom of a Grand Ruler, princess."

Starfire reddened. "I will not be Grand Ruler."

"That is a pity. We of the army… you know how different a breed we are. We do not think like ordinary citizens."

"Please, explain."

"We have ideals that we expect from no one else but from members of the army. We are warriors. We die for our people. We sacrifice for our people. We serve and we protect. We do not give our brethren up to the enemy. We would rather face torture than see someone else suffer the same fate we did, soldier or civilian. We of the Imperial Legion honor you for the sacrifice you made so long ago to save your planet. You willingly gave yourself over to slavery, at the tender age of nine, to save the lives of your people. It was a sacrifice we regard higher than death, for death might have been easier for you, yet you chose the harder fate. When the Grand Ruler gave up Komand'r to get you back, we felt, deep in our hearts, that it was wrong; that your father was dishonoring you and your sacrifice. It was not your father's best moment."

Starfire frowned. "Your words are seditious Taryia. You could face death for that by Tamaranian law."

"Will you tell on me, Your Highness?"

"No."

"I thought not. Then let me continue. When we heard that you had not returned with the ship, that you had escaped, we of the army knew, even if the civilians did not, why you did it. Our people thought it was because you abandoned our planet, but as soldiers, we knew better. Princess, every single soldier in the Imperial Legion would have followed you to the edge of the galaxy for what you did. You were our hero. You stood up to your Grand Ruler's faulty judgment, denied the luxuries of your birthright, saved your own brother from possible enslavement and most of all, you wanted to deliver your sister from slavery. Your disappearance for eight years has done nothing to lessen the army's respect of you. In fact, it has made you the stuff of legends. If you take up your birthright as Grand Ruler of Tamaran, by my soul, the armies of the three worlds will pledge undying allegiance to you."

"You speak as if my father does not command the armies right now, Taryia. Does he not?"

She shrugged. "He does. By written pact, he does. And the armies are not entirely reluctant. They know it is the right thing to do to have a united front, but an army driven by their hearts is ten times more powerful than an army driven by treaty. The Kalapattians and Hynxxens know your story, princess. They honor the same heroes we do, after all."

Starfire didn't know if she should believe Taryia. Oh, she wouldn't lie, but some soldiers were more passionate than others, and perhaps the passionate ones were more prone to exaggerate. "Well, what if I disappeared because I really _was _shirking my responsibilities as the crown princess?"

"Were you?"

"No, but did none of the army consider that?"

"We did not believe it. The sacrifice you made was too great; you would not let it be in vain. Soldiers like us know sacrifice; how much it costs and how much it pains us if it goes to waste. We believed in you, and we were right, weren't we? You did it for your siblings?"

Starfire sighed. "Yes, but—"

"Then our regard is justified."

Starfire let it go. It was not a topic she was too happy about.

They arrived at the pizza place and Starfire placed the orders. She itched to jokingly tell Taryia, "This is what your army hero does in her free time: Deliver pizzas. And she does not get tipped well, either," but decided against it. She wasn't sure if Taryia would take it well.

They received curious looks from some of the customers while the rest pretended that they weren't there. News of the Tamaranians had already taken over the airwaves mere hours from the time of their arrival, and having known Starfire, the interest of the entire city was piqued to amazing proportions.

When the pizzas were brought out and Starfire attempted to pay for it, the manager, who gave them the orders, told them that the pizzas were free as long as they could have their pictures taken by the pizza house's logo.

Starfire obliged easily, dragging Taryia to get the pictures over with.

Soon, they were on their way back to the tower.

As they flew over the water, Taryia attempted to broach something, but she seemed very hesitant.

Starfire touched her arm gently. "What is it, Taryia? You may tell me."

"Your leader…"

"Robin?"

"Yes. He is not your _s'lor? _He did not seem familiar with the term when I called him by his title."

Starfire chuckled. "He is not."

"You do not love him enough?"

"Oh, I do! I love him very much. But that is a Tamaranian practice. Here on Earth, there are no _s'lor, _just the person you care for most deeply. Around here, I do not have to endure an arranged marriage and then keep a _s'lor__."_

Strangely, Taryia did not seem pleased by it, but the expression on her face came and went so quickly that Starfire suddenly wasn't sure.

Starfire let it go without further question.

They arrived back at the tower, and seemingly just in time. Galfore and Cyborg were down to their last boxes but they were nowhere near done.

Karras and Beast Boy had made their respective loyalty bets and Raven was beginning to look sick to her stomach.

"It isn't right," she said, leaving the arena to fix herself some tea.

Robin leaned his shoulder against his seat, arms crossed over his chest. He was half-grinning. The smile coupled with the relaxed way he sat was a sure sign that he was vastly amused.

"Work with me, captain," said Karras in a serious tone. "I have quite a sum of money riding on you."

"Son," said Galfore through a mouth full of pizza. "If you lose that money, it is your own fault. I am only here to eat."

Karras sighed. "Misbegotten Gods, a loyalty bet must count for _something."_

"Karras!" Taryia said, scowling. "Your language! Gods be…"

Beast Boy smirked. "Go Cy! You going to let someone take your record away from you?"

Cyborg grinned. "Hell no!"

Starfire sat behind Robin on the booth and leaned her chin on his shoulder. He wouldn't mind, at ease as he was. Robin was almost always weighed by the cares of being leader of the Titans and while he was often relaxed in her presence, he hardly ever got that way in front of the others.

He didn't tense at her touch, which meant he was letting her lean. It was enough for her. She dared not push any further by doing something like putting her arms around him. He wouldn't pull away from her, but he would be dreadfully uncomfortable and she would feel it. She did not want him to be ill at ease. He could be very affectionate when it was just the two of them, anyway; there was no need for her to get greedy.

The eating contest was in full swing when the alarm in the tower sounded. All noise save for the sound of the siren stopped and there was a brief pause in the atmosphere.

The calm that had settled on Robin was instantly gone as he got up and went straight for the computers. The Titans were beside him in seconds.

When he activated the computer, information began to stream through the screen, ending with the complete profile of Dr. Light. The rest of the information told them that he was highjacking two armored cars filled with money. He was too powerful to be stopped by the police.

"Hey!" said Beast Boy with a deep frown. "Didn't we just put him away?"

"Tell that to the Jump City Correctional Facility," muttered Raven.

Robin noted the location and turned to lead them out of the tower. "Titans, let's—"

Taryia flew into his path. "We will go with you."

"No." There was no hesitation in Robin's tone. "You stay here with your party. There are enough of us to handle Dr. Light." He walked past her and the rest of the Titans followed with hardly a backward glance. When Robin spoke like that, there was no contradicting him.

Starfire looked over her shoulder at Galfore, a sense of duty compelling her to be respectful. "I will be back shortly." She flashed him a bright smile and flew after her teammates.

They piled into the elevator and as Starfire turned her gaze to the closing doors, she saw Galfore, Taryia and Karras watching her with determined gazes.

She felt a bit uneasy but shook it off almost as quickly.

Dr. Light was abroad and Jump City needed its Titans.

_To be continued…_

_

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Author's notes: Thanks to follow! I've released two chapters this time because a) I love you all; and b) It totally needed to be made into two chapters.


	10. Starfire's Quandary

Author's notes: Hi folks! I've put together answers to FAQs because I noticed how some of you had similar questions to very important points. I have compiled the answers in no particular order.

1. The Karras, Taryia and Xyannis I have in my stories are different from the comics. Although their characters exist, I've given them different turns.

2. I try to base most of the lore on the animated series, up to Season 2. I may take elements of Season 3 (and perhaps 4) but only insofar as it applies to new characters like Galfore. The events that happened in season 3 and 4 will not reflect in this story.

3. Yes, I do believe this is fast becoming an alternative storyline.

4. I am not writing this according to what happened in the comics.

5. I am not writing my own version of "Betrothed." Lol.

6. In the **comics**: Yes, Karras and Koriand'r married. Yes, Karras and Xyannis were brother and sister. Yes, Koriand'r and Kommand'r are the only ones, amongst their people, who could fire starbolts. Yes, Starfire and Xyannis never actually became friends. Yes, Karras and Taryia were an item. Yes, yes, yes to all comic lore. _But _I am writing for the animated series, and since they've altered many facts from the comics to fit the cartoon, I'm doing the same thing for my story. What applies in the cartoon (up to season 2), I apply in my story. What applies in the comics does not necessarily apply in my story. As far as family relations go, I will definitely apply comic lore, but as to everything else: relationships, powers, strengths, personality, I have my own story to tell. So if, say, Karras and Taryia got together in the comics, it doesn't mean I will have them get together in my story, as well. (Won't that be cute, though?)

Of course, speculation is a good thing. It breeds creativity and I'm all for it. It's all good!

Standard disclaimers apply.

**PATH TO TAMARAN**

**Chapter Ten: Starfire's Quandary**

Always, Starfire thought the city darker when they were on a mission to save it. She hardly ever feared the bad guy. Courage was a natural instinct in all of them in spite of their personal fears and inner demons, but Starfire always had a sense of foreboding for her friends. She did not want to see any of them get hurt.

Maybe there was more of the Tamaranian superiority in her than she thought, because she believed, at the back of her mind, that the other Titans couldn't possibly be as strong as she was; couldn't take hits as well as she could. She always felt a screaming desire to protect them, but as she had told Galfore, sometimes, they were even stronger than she was. Robin, especially.

When Johnny Rancid caused Robin to break his arm, she realized just how frail Robin was compared to the rest of them. Raven had powers of healing, so in a way, her body could withstand more beating than he could. Beast Boy gained the strength and agility of the animal forms he took, so he could deflect injury, if not withstand it altogether. And then there was Cyborg who called the strength of the machine in him at will.

Robin had only the muscles in his body, human in every way. The only armor he wore was his Kevlar enforced clothing and she had seen how little protection that offered. When Slade had beaten Robin sore, he was bruised and battered within every inch of him. His swollen left cheek had wrenched at her heart. How could he stand to be so damaged? Yet, he always went back for more, absolutely unafraid.

He had often joked with her about losing his teeth. _Would she still love him?_ he had asked. Of course she would. She would love him if he had both his arms cut off and if he had to wear a wooden leg, but that was beside the point. She could not bear the thought of having him so physically broken. He was vibrant; agile; athletic and relatively strong compared to other humans, but he had his limitations. He simply must not be made an invalid because of, and because he was, all those things. There was no way she would let a vibrant, agile, athletic being like him be destroyed by injury. It was the main reason she had gotten between him and Cinderblock. It would have killed him to have Cinderblock barreling into him like that. Unlike her, Robin would not have survived the hit at all.

Protecting Robin and relying on him was a well of contradictions within her and she had to wonder if perhaps he felt the same of her. He probably did.

She and the titans flew through the tunnel, Cyborg clutched in her grip while Robin sped along on his R-Cycle. Beast Boy gave a shriek in Eagle form, coasting on the strong tailwind Starfire left trailing. He flew faster for it. Raven drifted nearby on her powers, her concentration evident.

As they emerged from the tunnel into the streets, Starfire soared above Jump City, catching a bird's eye view. Cyborg pointed just a few blocks from where Robin was leading the team down below. "Right on track. Follow that light!"

Starfire saw that this time, the concept of "dark" was not figurative. She saw entire blocks gone of power as a blinding white light throbbed in the center of it. She nodded, lowering them to lead the pack in the correct direction. "This way!" she yelled above the roar of the R-Cycle.

She whipped around the corner, the orange trail behind her glowing briefly before fading against the dark. Cyborg gave a yelp at her sharp turns and Starfire giggled.

Robin maneuvered his motorcycle expertly, never breaking and causing no delays. Beast Boy and Raven followed close behind.

Cyborg activated the communicator on his arm and as Starfire glanced down, she saw Robin's face from an odd angle. It was from the communicator on his motorcycle.

Cyborg spoke into the screen. "Robin, this alley is blocked up. Know what to do?"

"I'm on it." Robin winked out of the monitor.

Starfire was not the least bit surprised when Robin did not back up his vehicle. In fact, he shot forward even faster, and before she could feel unsettled by it, she saw him hitch his bike up on a diagonal platform. When the wheels lost board, the motorcycle soared through the air above the alleyway gate, clearing any obstruction. He landed on the other side with a shrill shriek of rubber on cement then he was off again.

Starfire gave a sigh of relief and rolled her eyes, shaking her head disapprovingly. She didn't know if she was exasperated with her dare devil of a leaderor if she was exasperated with herself, for even bothering to be unreasonably anxious for his safety.

Cyborg laughed at her expression. "Worrying about the Boy Wonder again?"

"It cannot be helped."

"Well, he'll always be one crazy bad-ass. That ain't changing."

She laughed softly. "What does that say about the person dating him?"

"She must be stark raving insane."

This time, she laughed out loud. She shot forward, catching up on Robin.

Cyborg flashed Robin a wide grin. "Yo man, that was stupid! I mean _good _stupid."

"Thanks," he said in a serious tone. He signaled ahead. "I think I see the suspect. Titans, go!"

"Launching," said Starfire. Cyborg nodded. She let him go, tossing him forward. He turned a flip, landing gracefully in a skidding crouch on the pavement and fluidly transforming the motion into a sprint. She could hear his cannons charging.

Starfire rose above, soaring high. She could see the explosion of powerful light centered on the street. Everything else around them was pitch black and the nearby transformer had been blown, smoking toxic clouds.

An armored car was turned over on its side while another was tilted awkwardly, headlights blinking. The windows of both vans were shatteredinto tightly woven webs. The surrounding police cars had been pushed back awkwardly, some of them bent and smoking. A lot of the squad car headlights had been blown dead and some of the cars were emitting dying sirens. The officers had to stay crouched behind their cars to avoid getting blasted with quick charges of electricity. She could see uniformed paramedics rolling out several injured police officers in gurneys, the ambu-cars parked several blocks away to keep Dr. Light from draining them of precious, lifesaving power.

Starfire clenched her fists.

At the center of it all was Dr. Light, laughing in grotesque glee at the destruction he had caused around him.

_All this damage and pain for money? _wondered Starfire. What was it about men like Dr. Light? How could they value currency more than human life? For all he knew, there may have been a hospital nearby that needed power to keep several people alive; children who might need electricity to breathe precious oxygen; or surgical machines that needed current to operate with life-preserving precision. How dare this strange, greedy man devalue life so thoughtlessly?

The Titans came from all sides, closing in on Dr. Light.

Beast Boy barreled into him first as a raging bull, transforming each time to avoid the bolts of energy Dr. Light threw at him. Seeing how the lightning bolts failed to detract Beast Boy, Dr. Light took a squad car and powered the red light on top of it. It glowed like fire, but it did its work. Beast Boy's bull instincts were unable to resist the red and he crashed himself right into the police car door. Beast Boy transformed into himself, completely dazed and staggering in circles.

Starfire sighed, eyes a-roll. She dove, throwing starbolts from her hands one after another as she dodged the electricity Dr. Light threw back. Cement exploded around him, but he protected himself in an energy shield. She had to pull up to avoid crashing into it.

Cyborg and Robin attacked together. The half-robot fired his sonic cannons around Dr. Light, knowing that Dr. Light would only absorb the charges if he fired directly. The villain backed up and Robin came at him, bo-staff in hand.

Robin twirled his bo-staff with expert skill, extending it at the last second. He caught Dr. Light in the gut and then at the back, having the villain tumble over, just inches from Cyborg's explosions.

Dr. Light recovered quickly, rolling forward to recover himself. He stood up, hands towards the air as he fired simultaneously at Starfire and Raven. He missed them both.

Raven shot forward, enveloping him in her black, eerie powers. "Ask yourself, Dr. Light… do you feel lucky?" Her eyes hollowed into chasms and her darkness began to bleed on him, starting with his feet and working upwards.

Dr. Light stared up at Raven, terrified. He stumbled back, swallowing, as if trying to consume his fear. He doubled over himself and began to glow white.

Stafire's eyes widened. "Raven! _Look away!" _She fired bolts at the villain's feet.

Dr. Light expanded his chest, releasing a bright, blinding stream of electricity, but the starbolts had knocked him awkwardly to the side. His power remained strong, but it lost focus, and Raven was able to raise her hands on time, creating a barrier to protect herself. She was safe; that was relief enough for Starfire, but Raven had to back away. Dr. Light's flare was too strong. He raised his hands and the power lines around them snapped from their connections. They coiled around each other, as if they had minds of their own, and formed two thick chords. They whipped around, crackling dangerously as they swung and hit.

Police officers screamed to get away, their cars crunching at the sheer weight and electricity of the cables. The rest of the Titans had to scramble to dodge the thick eels.

Starfire charged her bolts, ready to obliterate the one that was heading straight for her. She was just about to release a highly explosive charge when something slammed into her with breath-taking strength. It reminded her of those American Football games she watched, when the television announcers put the bodily collisions on slow motion. It was like that, but infinitely more real, and painful.

She and the thing rolled on the pavement, knocking her senseless for several seconds. She was utterly confused as she bolted upright, but she froze in icy realization as she saw the snarling face of Karras staring her down, rage clear in his features.

"Are you _insane?" _he cried, growling. "Galfore will have my head if something happens to you, you _stupid brat!"_

"Karras? W-What are you?" She gasped, seeing past his shoulders Taryia, flying through the air straight at the coiling electric beast. _"Taryia!" _Pushing past Karras, she had him tumbling and crashing to the trash-bins nearby.

Taryia fired explosive bolts from the bolt-amplifiers in her hands and eyes. Starbolts were uncommon enough among her people; strong starbolts rarer still. A lot of the bolt wielders had to wear amplifiers in their hands and eyes to generate the same power Starfire or Blackfire could naturally create. Taryia's bolts lacked power to make any considerable damage.

Taryia pulled out her massive sword and slashed at a nearby electric post. It toppled on top of the writhing coiled cable, incapacitating it for several seconds. The cable bucked, launching the thick post in the air straight for Taryia.

Taryia took the post across the gut and she flew back, tumbling helplessly to the ground.

"Taryia!" Starfire cried, attempting to shoot forward, but she jerked back with a yelp, her hair caught on something.

She was enraged to discover that Karras had held her and he tossed her backward, almost as violently as she had him. She crashed against the same trash-bins. She shrieked bloody murder as some rats scampered over and away from her.

She roaredKarras' name in fury.

Karras sped forward, hand wrapped around the hilt of his sword as he hunched in a strange stance.

All she could think about was how stupid and crazy he was, thinking that he could take on an electrically powered monster with a steel weapon. He would be charred to cinders by the traveling current of electricity! But he did not stop, launching in the air as much as his leg-muscles allowed him and slashed with fluid and fast strokes.

Surprisingly, the electricity did not catch him, and large chunks of cable fell to the ground, dormant.

The primary chord remained active and before it could slam into Karras, Cyborg fired his sonic cannon to knock it off course. Beast Boy transformed into a rhino, charging into another post to topple it and slap the chord away.

Robin and Raven fell upon Dr. Light. Robin knocked Dr. Light's feet from under him and Raven caught him in her nightmarish embrace. The possessed cables instantly fell motionless on the dark street. The only lights remaining were from the fading headlights of a few patrol cars.

Dr. Light screamed himself almost bloodless and Robin had to yell above the din.

"Raven! Enough, Raven!"

Raven fell back, sucking her powers back to herself.

Dr. Light lay curled up on his side, the bulbs on his costume dimmed. He looked pale, but he seemed far more lucid now than the last time Raven had caught him in her grip.

Dr. Light sobbed as he pleaded. "Take me away! I surrender! Please, just get me away from her!"

Raven smiled down at him in satisfaction. "Lessoned learned, Dr. Light?"

He scrambled away from her.

Amidst the moving beams of flashlights, the super-villain SWAT force came to take him, putting him in special cuffs and securing him in a rubber-lined containment van. Quickly enough, emergency lighting was rolled into the scene, giving off enough illumination for the police to do their work.

TheTitans and their unexpected companionsconverged on Robin and Raven, Taryia leaning on Karras as they went.

Starfire stomped towards them, snatching off creepy crawlies from her as she went. She was _furious—_like a _princess, _furious—, and she faced the _Rulad _with haughty displeasure.

"How dare you come here and keep me from performing my duties?"

Karras glared. "You're welcome, princess."

"Do not give me your sarcasm, Karras. Robin expressly told you to stay put in the tower and you ignored his command. Besides, I did not appreciate you barreling into me like some crazy _loomp-nort! _In the first place, it _hurt!"_

Taryia bowed. "Our apologies for that, Your Highness. Karras gets carried away."

Karras scowled. "Do not apologize to this ungrateful royal pain in the behind! We were following orders!"

Starfire pushed him on the chest. "Whose orders?"

Karras pushed her back. "Netherverse cursed, who else's?And don't you dare push me!" There was a bit of the prince in his tone now, Starfire noticed. It stirred in her the instinct to fight back. They were, after all, equal in rank in many things; having first rights to their respective thrones was the least of it. She felt like a _Rulad _of sorts, as well, and that they had not only offended her, but they had offended Robin's authority just as badly, and she was only more than willing to defend that.

Starfire was about to give a much vicious retaliation when Robin stepped in front of her.

He was bearing down on her with a stern stare. "Starfire, we _talked _about this."

She backed off, but she maintained the deep scowl on her expression. "I yield, but they got in my way, and they ignored your orders to leave this to us. I will not let them gainsay _my _captain."

Cyborg came up beside Starfire, shaking his head. "I have to agree to a certain extent, Robin. Karras and Taryia helped some, but they could have gotten seriously hurt. Beast Boy and I had to fight off the cable just to keep Karras from getting fried."

Robin sighed, looking over his shoulder at Karras and Taryia.

"Our orders were to protect the princess," said Taryia. "It was not a matter of gainsaying you, Robin _dai Jurumad. _For that, we are sorry. You may punish us as you see fit but we'd have done our duty, regardless. Princess Koriand'r is safe."

"I was not in any danger!" Starfire growled.

Robin squeezed her arm gently, signaling that he would take care of this matter. He looked to the _Rulad. _"I understand that you were ordered. And in keeping Starfire safe, we're in perfect agreement. There's no punishment necessary, but you also have to understand that Starfire managed without any of you around before. She is trained for this kind of thing. She protects us as well as she protects herself. With you 'saving' her, we had to protect _you. _If you think we're going to let you two die, even for Starfire, think again. We're not like that. Hate to say it, but you only got in the way."

Karras frowned. "Protect herself, can she?" He turned his gaze to Starfire. "What happened to the firing mechanisms in your eyes, princess? I know you've transformed and have the wielding of them. Why didn't you use them? I'd wager you got seriously hurt and couldn't use your eyes anymore."

Starfire clenched a fist and her eyes glowed. She could feel the heat at the back of them. Karras blinked but he remained stubborn; insolence brimming from his gaze. She let the light in her eyes die down. She had experienced charging them before, since after the operation, but she hadn't fired them yet, uncertain as she was of the consequences.

"Starfire." It was Robin's voice, telling her to let him handle it. If Karras' words had touched a nerve in her, it had touched a nerve in Robin as well, but Robin remained calm, though she could see the tension in his shoulders. He looked at Karras with only slight annoyance. "All of us have suffered injury, doing what we do, but what hasn't destroyed us has made us stronger. I'm sure you understand this, Karras. Starfire's here and alive, isn't she? That's telling enough of how we look out for each other and ourselves. Back off, Karras. You're pissing off Starfire, and pretty soon, you'll be pissing me off too. You don't want that."

Taryia jumped in. "No, captain. We do not want that. _Right, Karras?"_

Karras' jaw muscle twitched, but he nodded stiffly. "We do not."

"We are sorry, are we not, Karras?" Taryia gave him a small jerk.

"We are." Karras said it like he was having a tooth wrenched out, but it was enough that the words came from him. "I honor the same principles you do. I apologize for my rudeness, Robin."

Robin nodded. He flashed Karras a half smile. "You're a weird guy, Karras. And even if you could be an asshole, I figured I don't have to like you to trust you. Now, let's all go back to the tower. Titans?"

Karras nodded in return, acknowledging Robin's leadership. He followed behind Robin.

Starfire stifled a pout. She almost wanted to accuse Robin of fraternizing with the enemy. She wanted to stomp her foot and call Karras a kiss-up, but of course, doing all those things would have rendered her infantile. She stifled her irritation and came to accept the fact that Robin and Karras just might be the sort of men who could actually respect, if not like, one another.

She saw Robin getting on his cycle and she hurried on ahead with the rest of the Titans.

Beast Boy bowed in her path with a grand flourish. "After you, Your Majesty!" He spoke with his British accent.

Starfire made a face. "Really, Beast Boy…"

He laughed, changing into a parrot and perching on Starfire's shoulder. He squawked and whistled. "Royal rampage!" Another squawk. "Off with their heads!"

Starfire laughed in spite of herself.

Cyborg chuckled. "Cut it out, BB."

"Yes," said Raven, rising into the air. "I'm in a good mood. Don't ruin it."

Beast Boy launched himself into the air, squawking beside Raven. Raven had him flying against a mind-powered wall.

Starfire giggled, flying and picking Cyborg off the ground. The roar of Robin's cycle bounced off the building walls, amplifying the sound. He took off down the streets and Starfire followed him. Beside her in the air were Karras and Taryia, arms around each other. They looked like a missile inflight as they shot forward.

Raven and Beast Boy appeared shortly, with Beast Boy a green pterodactyl.

They sped through the streets, heading back to headquarters.

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When the got back to the tower, Galfore was there, awaiting their return. He carried with him some kind of bag and Starfire recognized it as a medicine kit.

Starfire walked into the Info and Rec level with everyone except Robin who had stayed in the garage for a few minutes. He said he would be up with the rest of them shortly.

As her gaze fell on Galfore, she didn't know if she was going to hug him or scold him. She decided to do both.

After she embraced her _k'norfka _she gave him a disapproving frown. "You should not have sent your _Rulad _to try and protect me."

Galfore smiled. "I did not send them to protect you. I sent them to watch you and report to me."

"They said you ordered them to protect me."

"I told them to do what they thought was best. If they thought it best to protect you, then I suppose they were doing as they were ordered. Did they get in the way?"

"Yes!"

"Ah, then I suppose I would have to speak to Robin about it. I do not want him thinking I am disrespecting him. _Rulad, _do you have any injuries?"

"Taryia may need some treatment for bruising," said Karras, leading her to the chair nearest Galfore.

Taryia made no protest. She must have been in more than a bit of pain.

Starfire sighed, pushing Karras aside with a relatively kind shove. "Let me attend to her."

Karras frowned slightly though he said nothing, perhaps recognizing Starfire's sincerity in treating Taryia's injuries.

Galfore nodded encouragingly at him as the Tamaranian captain laid the medicine bag beside Starfire.

Cyborg, from the refrigerator, asked if anyone wanted refreshments. Beast Boy bounded towards him, peeking into the refrigerator himself.

"Let me see," said Starfire to Taryia in a gentle tone.

Without batting an eyelash, Taryia pulled off her top. She was not naked. She had something of an undergarment; relatively modest in itself. It covered her breasts, but showed much of her midriff. Tamaranian warriors like Taryia did not make matters like gender and modesty her concern.They wereall warriors; equal in everything.If Starfire told Taryia to take everything off, she would, but that was, of course, highly unnecessary.

Starfire examined Taryia'sbody. It was bruised blue, black and raw. It looked very painful. She knew it was; she had suffered such bruises herself. Starfire was half certain there was a cracked rib somewhere. Taryia was not going to get by on salve, unless she wanted to be kept awake most of the night by writhing pain.

"Raven," called Starfire. "Please, I need your assistance."

Raven drifted towards them, her eyes roving to Taryia's injuries. "That hurts." It wasn't a question.

Taryia gave a shrug. "It is bearable."

Raven's eyebrow arched as she knelt beside Taryia. "I'll bet. Hold still. Relax. You'll feel some heat, and then cold, but it'll be fine."

Taryia nodded and let Raven do her work.

Raven focused her powers and her hands glowed dark. She let them hover over Taryia's body and instantly, the raw parts healed over. Another few minutes and Raven managed to lessen the bruising.Soon after, Raven pulled back, a mild strain pinching at the lines of her face. She breathed a bit before looking up at Starfire. "Best I could do for now."

Starfire flashed her a smile. "Thank you. It is more than Taryia could have hoped for on this night."

Raven nodded, drifting away to go to the refrigerator, probably to take a soda to replenish some of her energies. She had been taxed much that evening, what with Dr. Light, but as she said, she was in a good mood, so she probablyhadn't minded the extra use of her powers at all.

"Extraordinary," said Galfore from the side. "She could heal by touch."

"She could do many things." It was Taryia who said it.

Starfire could not help but feel proud for her friends. Taryia and Karras had seen what her Titans could do and she was certain that the _Rulad _had found reason to respect them.

"And the others too, I think," said Galfore. Starfire had told him stories of the Titans when they had talked on the rooftop, but Galfore was yet to see it.

She listened to Taryia and Karras report as she applied salve to Taryia's remaining bruises.

Karras nodded. "Yes. I was astounded by the shapes the little green one could take, and the strength of the Cyborg, too, was impressive."

"And their captain," said Taryia. "He has my respect. He is capable and strong; worthy of their leadership."

Starfire had a distinct feeling that she was not the only one Galfore wanted watched on the mission. She could forgive Galfore his little deception. He was, after all, the closest thing to a father she could ever have.

Robin walked through the elevator, and seeing Starfire treating Taryia, he went to them, a concerned frown on his face. "Did you have Raven try to heal her?"

Starfire nodded. "Raven did much. I am just putting salve on what injuries remain. Taryia will heal nicely."

"Good. Karras, you alright?"

"I am uninjured."

Galfore rose from his seat. "I thank you for your concern of my _Rulad, _Robin. But please, I would like conference with you. Somewhere private?"

Robin smiled. "Training room." He led the way.

They disappeared through the training room door with Starfire's gaze following them.

She wondered what it was exactly Galfore would talk about with him. Galfore had proven to be more wily than she remembered. Of course, he had always been a strange mixture of direct and diplomatic. It was how he got Starfire to listen to reason back then when she was a child. It was also how he managed to discipline her in many things. Perhaps his being _Jurumad _attested to his superb management skills, after all.

"You are worried about what the captain has to say to him," said Taryia.

Starfire set her attention back to her patient and she smiled as she reached for the bandages. "Not worried. I am curious. What does my surrogate father have to say to the man he thinks, by rights, should be my _s'lor?"_

Karras scoffed. "To warn him, I'd wager. Of you."

Starfire shot him a glare but kept her temper. Taryia certainly didn't think it offensive, and she was usually the first to react to Karras' rudeness towards the princess. "I am perfectly sweet and amiable to everyone but you, Karras. Ask anyone."

Cyborg and Beast Boy came over, sitting on the rest of the couch and flicking the television open. Raven took her place at the end of the sofa, levitating in her lotus position.

"Are you two going to fight again?" asked Beast Boy.

Cyborg flipped through the channels. "BB, that's their natural state. The question is: When _aren't _they fighting?"

Taryia smiled at that. "Ah, but the princess has shown great restraint."

"You have no idea," said Starfire with a roll of her eyes.

Karras gave a derisive snort. "You haven't exactly been congenial, you know."

"You absolutely give me no reason to."

"I have to say, Karras," said Raven, unexpectedly joining in the conversation. She _must _have been in a really good mood. "You've done the impossible. You've brought out in Starfire something I never thought she had."

"A raving witch?"

Starfire scowled but Raven actually chuckled at that. It was very seldom that Raven found humor in anything. Apparently, she found something funny in Starfire and Karras' fights, or maybe just Karras. He was the type of straightforward, amusingly cynical man Raven might find worthy of her time.

"Well, not exactly," replied Raven. "I was talking about her malice."

Starfire made a motion to protest, but Raven raised a hand to calm her. If she put any empathic powers behind it, Starfire hardly noticed.

"It's a refreshing side to your personality, Starfire," explained Raven. "It's something I could… related to. I never realized you were capable of sarcastic wit, at any rate."

Starfire was not sure if it was a compliment. Knowing Raven, it probably was. "You could thank Karras for that. His talents bring out the worse in me."

"Listen to this girl pretend that her imp of a mouth isn't her own," said Karras in a dry tone.

Starfire lifted her nose haughtily. "You are just jealous because I make better comebacks."

He gave a derisive snort. "You shouldn't be too proud about being an expert on ripping into someone's dignity."

She reddened, half irked and half embarrassed. "Believe me when I say that being better than you is not exactly something to boast of."

Another malignant smile began to spread on Raven's lips.

Karras was about to make a cutting reply when Cyborg interrupted.

"Okay, you two, quit it. My show's on."

The theme to American Pop Star blared through the speakers.

Karras simmered and Starfire refocused her energies on putting the bandages on Taryia.

Temporarily clipped of his claws, Karras repositioned himself beside Beast Boy, taking some of the offered potato chips, though he sniffed them momentarily before putting it in his mouth and deciding he liked it. The three boys, along with the impassive Raven, watched the show, laughing every so often when an aspiring singer belted out in his awful voice and off-key tone.

Starfire concentrated on taking care not to pull Taryia's bandages too tight. Not long into her task, she caught the elder woman flashing a subdued smile.

"Something is funny, lieutenant?" asked Starfire in Tamaranian. She was not offendedby Taryia's amused demeanor. It was a casual question for conversation's sake.

"No," replied Taryia in the same language. "Well, perhaps there is something funny. I never fathomed that anyone would dislike Karras the way you do."

Starfire was surprised by this before she found herself chuckling. "And I never fathomed Karras as anything else but dislikeable."

"Yet, see for yourself. He seems to be getting along fine with the others now that he sees your enmity for him has not extended to your friends. He realized it, I think, when Robin showed no reluctance to treat him fairly."

Starfire looked over her shoulder and saw that Karras was laughing along with Beast Boy and Cyborg. Karras, in fact, seemed to have said something so disparagingly funny about one of the untalented hopefuls on the show that even Raven found it in herself to crack one of her tiny smiles; Beast Boy and Cyborg just flat out laughed at it.

She was only mildly surprised at this. She had already suspected that Karras showed a more amicable face with others than he had ever did with her. Of course, six months living with him in his castle had not shown her his better qualities, but then she had never seen him with his soldiers, and perhaps that was when he was at his best. After all, he could not have been so successful as a soldier if he did not get along with anyone in his unit. As she looked at Karras, it occurred to her that he considered Beast Boy, Cyborg and Raven soldiers, as well.

He acted like an insufferable prick when he was in court, but she realized only now that he acted that way because he had very little patience for them. The sons, if not also the daughters, of lords and dukes who hid behind their father's titles to avoid service in the army likely earned his disdain if not his enmity.

Starfire shrugged, clipping the edges of Taryia's bandages. "The truth is this: I do not care, one way or another. I have never, in my life, said that and meant it; only now, with him. He may hate me as much as he wants and I feel no need to change that."

Taryia sighed. "I suppose there's no help for it."

She sounded so depressed about it that Starfire tried to give her a reassuring pat on the shoulder. "But you never know, you know? Maybe I will find him more bearable and he would not think me such a witch anymore."

Taryia made no other response to it. She instead thanked Starfire for the care, sitting back to relax on the couch to watch the show with the rest of the Titans.

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Cyborg, Beast Boy and Raven turned in for the night when American Pop Star finished. Starfire was left waiting in the living room with Taryia and Karras for Galfore and Robin to emerge.

"They have been there for quite some time," said Starfire somewhat anxiously. "What _are_ they talking about?"

She spoke the words in Tamaranian, realizing how easily she slipped back into speaking it and adopting the new inflections and nuances she heard from Galfore and Taryia. Karras' Tamaranian was fluid enough, and he spoke it even without his translator on. His accent was pleasant, but Starfire didn't bother speaking the compliment out loud. His ego didn't need anymore stroking.

"I would not worry so much, princess," said Taryia. "The captain's loyalty to you extends to Robin a great deal. Robin shall be treated with respect."

Karras merely gave a grunt, as if he didn't exactly believe it. Starfire ignored him.

They sat in silence for several minutes with Starfire battling anxiety within her. It was a few more minutes before she decided that Taryia was right, that she had nothing to worry about, or else, there was really nothing she could do to change anything that may have been happening in the training room. She veered her thoughts, trying to think of something other than Robin and Galfore talking about God knew what.

She turned to Karras. He was the perfect antidote. She spoke Tamaranian, just because it helped to relax her. "Karras, how did you manage to cut off pieces of Dr. Light's monster cable without electrocuting yourself? Your sword is metal, is it not? It is a primary conductor of electricity."

He flashed her a toothy grin, his ego growing right before her very eyes. "Because I am so good at what I do."

"Just please spare me your nauseatingly bigego and answer the question."

He laughed, throwing back his head. It infuriated her that he found great amusement in it all, but she was too curious to rail about it right now. He pulled the sword from his belt, sheathe and all, and tossed it towards her.

Starfire caught it with one hand, hearing the clear clink of steel from within the protective enclosure of the blade. She grasped the handle and was surprised to feel the firm grip the hilt gave. It fit perfectly in her hand, but perhaps because it had a fairly small diameter.

The sword, though slim and compact, felt heavier than it looked. The length of the blade from hilt to tip was a little more than half her height, probably coinciding with the length of Karras' limbs. She slid off the sheathe, the sharp gleam of steel meeting light flashing across her eyes. She turned it a bit to deflect the glare.

Hefting the unsheathed sword, she stared at it, trying to understand how Karras had done what he had. She looked at the hilt once more. It was wrapped in a rubbery material, making a wielder's grip unyielding; sure. Only a skilled twist by an opponent could get the sword wielder to falter in his hold.

Starfire figured that the hilt wrap might have something to do with stopping the current of electricity. The material, like the Earth rubber, had the same insulating properties, incapable of conducting electricity. But still, such a current as Dr. Light could generate would have made the sword too difficult to wield. It would have shook and jerked in Karras' grip. There was absolutely no way Karras could have made the smooth transitions and slices with a clumsy weapon.

"The metal is Kalapattian," said Karras. "Just like any other metal in the universe in most things, except that its basic metallic properties could be isolated from the conduction bands in its atoms. The metal isn't totally rid of conductive properties, but it's enough of a dampener to cut through the current cleanly. Impressed?"

Starfire was, but she would rather be damned to the Netherverse than admit that to him. "Good sword," was all she said. She took the sheathe and slipped it back around the blade.

Karras laughed again and she frowned, snapping sword and sheathed together in mild irritation.

The doors to the training room suddenly opened and Starfire rose to her feet, slamming the sword back to Karras, perhaps with unnecessary force. It gave him a good clout, causing him to curse her and her lineage in the searing rhythm of the Kalapattian tongue.

She didn't care. She had questions that needed answering and only Robin would be forthright with her about them.

She made a quick assessment of Robin and Galfore. They seemed alright. No bruising. No blood. Also, they were grinning at each other: No hate.So far so good, but one never knew. "Well, look at the time!" said Starfire, affecting a yawn as she rose in the air. "It is quite late, isn't it? Taryia, you must get some rest if you want to heal quickly. Robin, are you retiring yet? Or are you going to work a bit more?"

Robin veiled a smile, probably knowing exactly what Starfire was planning to do. "I'll be working on a few last minute things, why?"

"Nothing, really. Well, goodnight, then. Goodnight Galfore." She swept over to her giant of a _k'norfka _and gave him a quick peck on the cheek. She waved to Taryia. "Goodnight, Taryia _dai_ _Rulad. _I shall see you all in the morning." She paused and looked over her shoulder at Karras. "Goodnight."

"Good riddance," he replied with a grimace.

She rolled her eyes in disgust but left it at that. She didn't know why she even bothered. She heard Taryia chastising him in Tamaranian with perhaps the foulest language Starfire had ever heard Taryia use. She wasn't particularly shocked that Taryia was potty-mouthed. She was a warrior of the Imperial Legion, _Rulad _no less, and it was practically a prerequisite to be able to spew profanities on a regular basis to become a true soldier.

Starfire headed straight for the elevators, letting Taryia do her worse; she had other more important things to think about.

She supposed she made it clear enough to Robin that she would be asking him what he and Galfore talked about, and that she would want to know about it _now. _Her roundabout way of telling him so was more for him than her. Any form of public display of intimacy gave Robin a certain degree of discomfort. Sometimes, he allowed it without issue, but most times, he would rather not. She would rather take the safer course; she was very considerate that way.

She headed straight for the showers; she had time enough for that, after which she dressed in a fresh strappy pink top and a pair of pajamas dotted with tiny pink stars and moons. She headed to Robin's room, resolving to wait for him in there. He never minded when she ambushed him in his quarters. She supposed it was his way of adjusting to her habits, in much the same way she adjusted to his.

Starfire hadn't been waiting long when Robin walked through his doors. She tossed aside the science magazine she had found under his bedside table and smiled.

He chuckled upon seeing her, shaking his head.

She let him gather his bearings as she waited patiently on his coverlet for him to start speaking.

He removed his utility belt and his cape then sat on the edge of bed, kicking off his boots. He wiggled his toes from within the cover of his thick black socks nonsensically and Starfire recognized it as a stalling tactic. She grinned to herself, letting him take his time. Finally, he looked over his shoulder at her. He seemed amused. "Well?"

Starfire shot him an incredulous stare, marred only by the grin on her lips. "What do you mean, 'Well?' What did Galfore say to you? What did you talk about? How did your private conference go?"

His eyebrow arched, unable to stifle his own grin. He looked at his clock and yawned. It was a pretend yawn. "It's late…"

She pouted for a second before she let her own mischief take over. She wrapped her arms around him from behind, leaning her chin on his shoulder and tilting her lips up to whisper in her ear. "If you tell me, I do promise to be good."

Robin, made of nerves and a will of steel, had never been proof against Starfire's seductions, whether or not he knew she would actually fulfill them. He craned his neck, letting their foreheads bump lightly. "Maybe we could sort of reverse the order of that… goodies first; tell later." He leaned over, probably to kiss her.

She chuckled, pulling away and shaking her head. He almost fell over as she smoothly evaded his lips. "Noooo, _tell_ first; goodies _later_. I have already decided that I will punish you if you tell me nothing."

"Punish me?"

"Yes. As in: walk out of here, punish you."

He pretended to pause and think about it. "Well, I certainly wouldn't want that…"

"No, you do not." She grinned.

A second later, he nodded. "I'm a reasonable guy." A tiny smile formed on his lips, slightly predatory. He leaned over, kissing her with soft suction just below her ear. "I'm counting on that promise, hear?"

She giggled, a pleasant shudder running down her spine. "So am I, come to that. But first we talk."

He made a soft sound of longing, burying his nose on the crook of her neck and slipping his arms around her. "You're killing me."

She smiled, honestly liking the feel of his breath on her throat and the firm grasp of his hands on her waist. It still amazed him how Robin could be so cool and composed in front of others but so passionate when it was just the two of them in an intimate setting. Both sides of his personality were so distinct that sometimes even _she _found it difficult to remember how unraveled he could be when he wanted, especially when he was scolding her for something or other.

But during times like these; when his hot breath was warming parts of her that she didn't know needed attention; when his silky lips were pressed against her skin, usually followed by the gentle caress of his tongue; when his hands were upon her, eager for the feel of her, she couldn't imagine him being anything else _but _passionate.

His lips began to take liberties on her neck and shoulders in the most wonderful way.

She sighed happily, momentarily closing her eyes and wanting so desperately to give in to his ministrations, but she knew that if she gave in now, Robin would know exactly the kind of power he had on her and that simply wouldn't do. A girl shouldn't have to be powerless in the face of her boyfriend, no matter how tempting it was to give him absolute control.

Giggling softly, she pushed him with a gentle nudge. "Later." She did not know how she managed to resist him.

He expelled a breath. He left the intimate confines of her neck and slipped off his mask, tossing it carelessly to the corner of his bed.

She arched an eyebrow; not that she didn't like seeing his eyes. They were as mesmerizing to her now as the first day she saw them, but the removal of his mask at such time, when they could burn each other with a single touch, was about as baring for him as stripping his shirt off.

"What?" He flashed an innocent look, removing his gloves with veiled nonchalance.

She knew what he was doing. She wagged a finger at him. "If you think you could draw this out until I surrender, you are—as Raven says—'way inside and above your head'."

He chuckled, cupping her face in his hand and caressing her cheek with his thumb. "You mean 'way in over _my _head'."

She nodded haughtily. "That is what I said. I suspect that whatever Galfore told you, he does not want me to know about it; it was the reason he sought privacy in the first place, so I have decided I will not try to convince him to tell me, but you, _Richard, _will tell me what I want, when I want it. I could sit here all night and tease you just as badly as you are teasing me, and mind you, I will stay clothed. They are not budging an inch."

"Well," he said thoughtfully. "We could—you know—do this _clothed _if you're into that sort of thing. I could work with that." He jerked his eyebrow suggestively.

Starfire could not help but laugh. "You naughty…"

"You have no idea," he drawled, moving forward to attempt another kiss.

She put her hands out, placing them firmly on his shoulders. "Richard Grayson, if I did not know any better, I would think you too enamored of me to be reasonable."

He grinned. "Oh? What gave me away?" Undeterred, he managed to land his kiss on her lips, coaxing unholy thoughts in her as she indulged herself a moment by kissing back.

But she had already decided that she would get him to talk and she was determined to get what she wanted. Pulling away, she laughed. "But since I _do _know better, I know you are trying to distract me. For some reason, you do not wish to tell me about what transpired between you and Galfore. This will never do, as you should know by now that if your talk with him had anything to do with me, I believe I have every right to know about it."

He cocked a smile and had her lying against the pillows with a swift, skillful pull. He kept her caged in his arm, on leg draped over hers to keep her from moving. "Too many words."

She managed a frown, and she was surprised to discover that she wasn't pretending do be displeased, either. "I am serious, Robin."

She saw in his eyes that he suddenly understood that she was, and he sighed, the playful desire gone from his gaze, replaced by deep longing, mixed with partial defeat.

"I can't tell you everything," he said. "There was an important part that Galfore made me swear I wouldn't tell you. I don't entirely agree that it should be kept from you, but I'm bound by my promise. Anyway, I'm not sure myself if it's the sort of thing I'd want you to know about… probably because I'm a selfish prick."

She frowned again, this time because she didn't approve of him calling himself selfish. He was one of the most unselfish men she knew, and that was saying a lot, considering she had met scores of men throughout the galaxy. "You are not selfish."

He laughed mildly. "Oh, yes I am. When it comes to you, I am."

She shook her head to disagree. He went on to other things. "He apologized to me about the appearance of Karras and Taryia at the crime scene. He told me he had no intention of undermining my authority and that it wasn't going to happen again. I appreciate him for it, even if I knew he did it, not only protect you, but to check out the rest of us, as well."

She reddened and he eased her embarrassment.

"It's alright. I could understand his concern. No harm done."

"Thank goodness for that."

He nodded. "And then there's the matter of taking care of you." He grinned broadly. She groaned. "I had to tell him about what happened to you; about your losing your eyesight, and your starbolts. I wasn't sure if Karras or Taryia would tell him about it, but I figured it best came from me. He'd find out, one way or another, anyway."

"Oh, X-Hal save us all…" she muttered. "Was he so displeased?"

Robin hesitated. "Yes."

She eyed him, noticing the hesitation. "With me?"

He hesitated again. "No. Not with you."

It brought on another groan from her. "He blamed you, didn't he?"

"Well… he didn't really blame _blame…"_

"He did. Oh, Otherverse forfend! Galfore—"

"It really wasn't so bad," Robin said hastily. "I mean I could see that he wanted to beat the crap out of me but he didn't. That was nice of him."

Starfire scowled. Robin was such an awful fibber. "He attacked you. I know he did. He had no intention of killing you, of that I am sure of, but I am certain he desired to emphasize his displeasure by knocking you around a bit, just that he could not, because you are fast, and skilled. You probably dodged every strike he made; and that must have made him even more furious. What a miserable situation this is!"

Robin waved her concern away. "He didn't hurt me. I managed to… avert his anger after I sort of begged for his forgiveness. Actually, I was yelling that I was sorry. You know, so he would hear me above his anger. I know the kind of anger he had; it's the sort that buzzes in your ear and you don't hear anything else…"

Starfire sighed, hiding behind the cover of her hands. It was too embarrassing. It was bad enough she had an overprotective boyfriend, but to have an overprotective _k'norfka _too? That was just unfair. She cursed in Tamaranian. _"Auron's get…"_

"He said that a lot."

Worse and worse!

"But the important thing is," he said, putting a placating hand on her arm. "He listened to reason. When I managed to get through to him, he was just glad you had your eyesight back… give or take some emphasis on how I should take care of you…"

"Threatened the virtue of your behind if something awful happens to me, I'd wager."

A barely discernable smile twitched from the corner of Robin's lip. He did not confirm nor deny her comment. He instead went on as if she hadn't said anything. "He also said that in Tamaran, they wouldn't have had the technology to cure you as well as you've been cured. Your planet's technology, though advanced in the many sciences, lacks a lot in medicine. I think maybe it's because your race is basically strong. Your physical and physiological strength enables you and your people to exist without much need for medical treatment, therefore the development of your medical technology is slow… am I boring you with this?"

"Not really Robin, no. I would much rather hear about your theories than Galfore's wrath."

He chuckled. "I told you: It wasn't so bad. Galfore and I straightened many things out. I think he and I could be really good friends."

"That is the truth?"

He cocked a smile, pinching her chin tenderly. "Absolutely."

She nodded, satisfied. "Let me try to explain Galfore's behavior, anyway. You are right in saying that our medical development is slow. As a race of strong, near impenetrable warriors, many of us do not need medical treatment, or if we need it, we do not take to it kindly. Most Tamaranians consider it a weakness to seek more medical help than—say—me putting salve on Taryia's bruises. It is strange how we seek care when the injuries are minor but bear great injury untreated; without the benefit of professional attention. It boils down to the principle that if you were strong enough to begin with, you would not have gotten so badly damaged. Scratches, knocks and bruises are matters that could be attributed to minor errors on the part of the warrior; basically, any injury or sickness that could be healed is acceptable, but losing one's limb, or one's eyesight, is an entirely different thing. Having that kind of injury shows an inability on the part of the warrior. For such injuries, the warrior has no one to blame but his or herself. Same thing if you are born with a defect, particularly when it pertains to nobles and military officers. A ruler lacking a hand cannot rule. A leader lacking a foot cannot lead. A crown princess lacking her eyesight cannot inherit the throne…"

Robin's focus on her words was apparent; so serious was his gaze. "But you're not going to inherit the throne," he said softly.

She shook her head. "No, but everyone would have treated me as if I failed them, anyway. Galfore would love me forever, even if I lost all my limbs, eyes and ears, but he could not help what others would think of me. His desire to protect me extends to wanting to spare me of such harsh judgment from my people. He was angry with you because… because he needed someone to get angry at, for something as debilitating as the loss of my eyes, and perhaps for the loss of my starbolts. I think it was more frustration than blame. Robin… you _do _know it was not your fault, right? I chose to take that hit for you. If there is anyone to blame for my loss of vision, it is I. Robin?"

He smiled wanly. "I'm just glad you could see again."

She pressed her palms to his cheeks. She would leave it at that. He would heal from that heartache, especially now that she could actually see. "Yes, I could. But do you understand Galfore's anger better from what I told you?"

"Yes. Yes, I do. I understand more than you realize."

She studied him. He was definitely hiding something, but there were some things even she could not get Robin to give up. "Good. But I am nevertheless glad to hear that you settled things with Galfore, even without me having to explain. I love you for that."

He flashed a lopsided grin. "I know."

She giggled. "What else did you talk about, then?"

Robin's gaze broke with hers, focusing instead on the waistband of her pajamas. He let his fingers travel, sliding it along her stomach where her skin and pajama garter met. "What's this doing here?" He gave the waistband a tentative tug.

She laughed softly, taking his hand and lacing her fingers through his to keep them from wandering further. "Not yet, Boy ofWonder. You must tell me everything you could."

He let her hold her hand without resistance, but he did not meet her gaze. "Kori, if not for me… for the Titans… would you want to go back to Tamaran?"

Because she loved him, she gave his question serious thought. After a few seconds of silence, she tugged to get his attention. "Look at me, Richard."

He hesitated, but he did look up.

Reaching up with her other hand, she pushed back imaginary strands of hair from his face. "I do admit that you and the Titans strengthen my resolve to stay where I am. In my own selfish way, I think I do not want to be anywhere else if not with you and my dearest friends, but my reasons for staying away from Tamaran are just as compelling. Whatmy fatherdid to Komand'r, and what I know he would have done to Ryand'r…" She shook her head. "Maybe if I did not have you and the Titans, I would give in to going back, but _that _would be the mistake. If I did not stay away, he would never understand my reasons for exile. In any case, I cannot go back there unless my father tells me he wants me back there for love; not for politics, not because he is the Grand Ruler. If my father says he loves his daughter and misses her terribly, then I might consider, but for now, there is no reason for me to return."

He sighed, and he sounded so unsettled that she looked at him questioningly.

"Richard?"

He opened his mouth to say something, but whatever it was, he seemed to think better of it. She was going to insist upon it, but what he said next completely distracted her.

"Galfore told me about _s'lor."_

For a moment, she could not fathom the words to speak then she felt irritation thump in her stomach. Her lips pursed. "I think maybe he had no right to tell you about that, simply because it is wholly inapplicable here on Earth."

He chuckled. "He believes I should consider it an honor, else he wouldn't have impressed it upon me. He told me that because of the title, I had a responsibility to keep you safe, happy and healthy. See how it ties in with everything that's happened to you since you lost your vision?"

She sighed. She wasn't particularly glad of it all, but she could see where Galfore was coming from. She was—to an extent—pissed, but there was no help for it. She should have known Galfore would come out with it if she hadn't. Robin was right; Galfore saw no shame or issue with the title; he considered it something Robin should be proud of; should feel honored about. It was not Galfore's fault. Taryia or any Tamranian in Galfore's unit could have just as easily informed Robin of it, very casually and off-handedly, in fact. They did not understand the weight of its implications to an Earthling like Robin.

"I have to be honest with you, Kori, I am absolutely bothered by the concept." He looked displeased. The concept of _s'lor_ was not something he could understand. He didn't have to understand it in the first place. "So what am I? The potential _Other Man_ when you have to be married off to some mega-jerk prince from the neighboring plan-" He stopped and reddenned, an embarrassed blush spreading on his cheeks. "-net." Heturned his gaze away momentarily, making idle circles on her shoulder.

Starfire pretended shehadn't realized he had began making an unconscious reference to Karras and ended it with his own realization that he had, indeed, been describing the Kalapattian prince.She had thought Robin had gotten over that insecurity, but she supposed it wasn't something that just went away. "I knew you would be upset. That is mostly the reason why I did not tell you about it, but also, I thought it absolutely unnecessary to inform you of it. I have no intention of declaring you as _s'lor."_

Both his eyebrows arched, and he seemed shocked by her words. "W-What? What's that supposed to mean? I'm not _s'lor _material or something?"

"That is not what I meant," she said desperately. "If I were to have a _s'lor, _I would have no one except you, but don't you see? Here on Earth, you don't have to be _s'lor. _Here on Earth, you are my boyfriend, and I love you, and I have visions of marrying _you_; not another prince, you."

He froze, staring at her. He didn't look any less shocked and his hands against her skin suddenly seemed to grow cold. "Er—you do?"

Starfire could've sworn he looked ready to bolt. At least, she thought, she had managed to get him to think about something else. She scowled, slapping him lightly on the arm. "Not in the near future, you silly boy. You are only eighteen, for X-Hal's sake, and I am only seventeen. Even in Tamaran, princes and princesses do not want to marry at seventeen, much less fourteen. But I wonder sometimes about ending up with you, you know? Just because it is thrilling; and it gives me a nice feeling inside. But I would not expect any of that for another ten years!"

He seemed utterly relieved by this, like he remembered to breathe, and the tension in his shoulders disappeared. He gave a soft laugh that sounded a bit embarrassed. "Oh, well, I knew you were just… you know. So, ten years? Right… check. I'll pen that in my Palm Pilot."

Starfire thought about it briefly, brows knitting. "Or five…"

"W-Whoa, hey…" He laughed again, though he didn't sound much like he found any of it funny. "That's like—half of ten…"

Starfire rolled her eyes. She could not blame Robin for finding the subject of marriage unnerving. Even she, when it came down to it, thought of marriage as something too overwhelming for comfort. Besides, being on Earth, there was absolutely no need to hurry such things along.She ignored his rambling and tried to get the conversation back on track."So I hope, Richard, that you do not feel so bothered by the concept of _s'lor _anymore as far as you and I are concerned. It is merely a title, anyway, with hardly any meaning here on Earth."

He took up the shifting gears with ease. "I'm not sure why it bothers me. Maybe it's the fact that Galfore, and probably the other Tamaranians, consider me _s'lor. _Maybe it's the fact that even now, here on Earth, they believe you're going to marry some prince from Vega anyway." He met her gaze. "Neither of us are ready to get married for at least another _ten_—" He raised an eyebrow, as if to get confirmation from her.

She giggled softly. "Ten. Or maybe eight."

He nodded graciously. "Eight to ten years, but I don't want to lose you to somebody you don't even... like." He sighed helplessly at yet another unspoken reference to Karras. Karras was, after all, the only prince Robin knew.

She let that aspect of the conversation go. There was no use dwelling on it since there was no way in the infinite worlds that she would let Karras and Marriage occupy the same thought pattern in her mind. She would try to reassure him in her own way, until the insecurity passed, which she knew would happen. She had faith in Robin. In the meantime, she acknowledged the essence of his concerns. "I am not going anywhere."

"See, that's where the selfish part of me comes in: I just want that to be true. I want you to stay right here—with me."

"I am staying."

"But what if you have to go?"

And there it was. The question she had dreaded him asking; the question Diana had asked her and one she had been forced to answer. She evaded giving the answer this time. "I do not have to."

"But what if you _have _to?"

She pushed herself up by her elbows, holding his gaze. "I do not have to." She kissed him. It was a kiss to make him forget, or at least one intended to steer his mind to more pleasant things. She guided his hand to the garter of her pajamas, coaxing him to run his fingers and palm between belt and hip.

He sighed against her lips, giving in to her wordless instruction as he pushed aside fabric to have his skin against hers. Whether he sighed because he wasn't proof against the sensual touch or whether it was because he knew she was evading the question, she would never know. Whatever it meant, the important thing was that he gave in to her wordless persuasion, coherent thought dissolving in the searing intensity of their kiss.

_To be continued…_

* * *

Author's note: **_Please_** (this is the equivalent of begging in print) see the links in my bios for important comments and discussions in my Thank You page! 


	11. Sons and Daughters of Kings

Author's Notes: First thing's first: I thank you all for your patience! More thanks to come later.

Standard disclaimers apply.

**PATH TO TAMARAN**

**Chapter Eleven: Sons and Daughters of Kings**

There was such a thing as beginning the day perfectly.

When Starfire roused herself from sleep, she was momentarily dismayed to find the space beside her empty. She had only just missed him. She could tell because the sheets were still warm.

Inching closer to Robin's pillow, she sought his lingering scent, closing her eyes and wishing he hadn't gotten up so early.

"Kori? You awake?"

The sound of his voice chased away the loneliness and she turned drowsily to look over her shoulder.

He was seated on the ledge of his oft-closed window, the shutters cracked open just enough for him to get a view of the bay. The light of the new sun warmed his face as he leaned against the wall, his gaze turned to the window.

Starfire blinked languorously, liking the view. He had put on a pair of red-plaid pajamas and that was all. He was bare foot and bare-chested, but she always thought he had absolutely nothing to hide. While his body shape suggested that he would always have a compact frame, there was no underestimating the strength it possessed. He would always be solid, and lined, like the acrobat he was supposed to have become. She turned over in bed lazily, enjoying the sight of him.

His eyes turned momentarily from the window to meet her gaze and he gave her a tiny smile. "You sure you want to miss the sunrise?"

She smiled back. She was still a bit sleepy, but sunrises were wonderful. She gathered the thin blanket around her and padded to the window in a swaddle of sheets.

Robin made room for her and she settled in front of him, leaning her palms and chin on his upraised knee. He pushed the shutter back even further to give her a broader view and she sighed happily at the colors of the sunrise.

She felt him ease back her hair from off her shoulder so that the wind won't catch it and tickle his face. His arms enfolded her from behind, pressing himself comfortably against her while his chin brushed lightly against her ear.

It was perfect.

She closed her eyes for a moment, letting her other senses enjoy the experience. She felt his lips press on her temple and she smiled.

"Didn't mean to wake you," he said. "But I saw you shifting; thought you might like to watch with me."

"I am glad I woke up on time." She gave a contented sigh, letting her eyes scan the horizon. The boats, varied in size, shape and color, were chugging slowly over the surface of the bay, heading off to make their deliveries. Birds flew active overhead, swooping down every once in a while on the fishing boats. The clouds above crept across the sky, throwing colors over the new day, and as the rays of the sun began to peek out of the glittering water, the city caught its light, bouncing it off glass buildings and granite walls. Across the bay lay the golden bridge; still and majestic amidst the activity above, below and around it. The few cars that raced over its pathway moved in steady traffic, tiny, colorful and dynamic.

They stayed that way for a bit, enjoying the sights and the silence.

After a while, Starfire noticed something in the room. There was stuff littering the floor. Not haphazardly. In fact, they had been set aside in an orderly fashion, but it was clear they were misplaced and she realized that they had previously occupied the very ledge she and Robin were sharing. She nudged the window shutter experimentally. It was a little tight on the hinges.

She caught Robin's look of amusement and she blushed, keeping his gaze from over her shoulder. "I was just thinking how this window is not often used."

He cocked a smile, tilting his head to look at her. "It isn't. I usually like it dark in my room."

_A __Wayne__ habit, _she thought. She would never say it out loud. "What is special about this morning?"

"I don't know. I just felt like it. You love sunrises, don't you?"

She grinned. "I do."

"I guess I was thinking about you." He pulled his gaze from her, looking out to the bay again.

She smiled a bit and they settled into another comfortable silence. A few minutes later, Robin placed a parting kiss on her neck, easing himself off the window ledge to grab a shirt from his closet and pull it over himself, after which he began to gather the things he would need to start the day.

It brought her mind back to the present reality. As much as she loved Galfore and her people, the thought that she had to face them all that day was wearying, for it had to be done, sooner better than later. As princess, she may choose to confine her contact with her people to Galfore, Taryia and yes, even Karas; the rest of them would think no worse of her for it, but she did not want to pretend that the rest of the unit wasn't there. She had been introduced to the other _Rulad; _Luren, Jak'r and Sul-Darr. They and the rest of the unit had traveled far just to see her. The least she could do was get to know the other _rulad _more extensively.

"I must get ready, as well," she said, hauling herself up, blankets and all. "I must pay my respects to my people and the other _rulad. _And there is still much to discuss with Galfore. He and I have not even spoken about Blackfire."

Robin looked at the mask in his hand pensively and Starfire could not help but wonder at what had him thinking so deeply.

Before she could ask, he pressed his mask on and nodded. "Yeah, we have to move ahead on this Blackfire issue. We've been distracted enough as it is."

She could always depend on Robin to get down to business. Most times, she and the rest of the Titans were glad for this, but there were days she wished he wasn't so no-nonsense. She tried to imagine him saying, "Starfire, let's just stay in the entire day. It's not like we wouldn't know it if Jump City needs us. Hello! There are alarm bells all over the tower!" but the forced image was more likely to melt her brain before it ever became reality. She shook off the image and was unable to help the giggle that escaped her.

Robin arched his eyebrow. "What's so funny?"

She shook her head, grinning. She gathered all her things, wrapping the blanket more securely around her. She considered getting to her room that way. It was too early for any of the Titans to be up and seeing her half naked. At any rate, she didn't care. Showing skin did not bother her as much as the average Earthling, and while she never really walked around the tower unclothed, she realized her mild disregard for modesty bothered Robin. He didn't really say much about it, and she probably wouldn't have noticed this strange quirk of his if she hadn't asked him to go shopping with her for bathing suits. She remembered she had put on a bikini ensemble that the saleslady said left little to the imagination (accompanied by a wink) but was very flattering anyway. She had tried on the suit and had walked out of the dressing rooms just to show Robin. He didn't exactly make a scene. His eyes had simply bugged out and he somewhat hustled her back into the dressing room, saying something like, "Er—nice, but kinda shrank in the wash, don't you think? Oh, look at this one! It's red. Great color on you. Try this on." The red one, though a bikini set, covered more skin, and it wasn't exactly flattering. She supposed Robin had just grabbed the nearest suit he could get his hands on, just so he had an excuse to get her back behind the cover of dressing curtains. She had understood the signals, and while she passed on the red suit, she managed to pick a bikini to her liking that didn't cause Robin's eyebrow to twitch unnaturally.

It was so endearing, these Earthling quirks. Really, Starfire had no trouble adjusting to them if it mattered to Robin so much. She grabbed his red plaid robe, probably a match to his pajamas, and slipped it on. It was too big for her, of course, but it covered her perfectly.

Rolling her clothes under the crook of her arm, she smiled at Robin. "I will give this robe back to you later, yes?" she said, following him out the door.

He smiled back, tugging a lock of her hair affectionately as they stepped out of his room. She rolled her eyes, grinning. It was so strange, this hair tugging, but when it came to Robin, she never complained about how he wanted to show his affection outside of their most private haunts.

She turned to go to her room but was mildly astonished to see one of the guestroom doors opening. Of course, it was by law of averages that her perfect morning would be rendered imperfect by the very person who had every power to make it so.

Karras stepped out on the hallway, dressed and ready for the day. He sneered when he saw her. She frowned.

_"Good morning, _my precious Princess Koriand'r!"

"Good morning, Karras," she said in a less enthusiastic tone, looking discretely over her shoulder to see if Robin was there to chastise her if she said anything more unsavory.

Karras waved beyond her. "Good morning, Captain Robin!"

She stifled a sigh, looking over her shoulder to see how Robin would take it.

He simply raised an eyebrow, expelled a breath with martyr-like patience and turned to go. _"Don't _give her shit, prince. It's too early." And that was that. He had better things to attend to than squabbling royalty.

In a way, Starfire was glad Robin was taking it more in stride.

"Wouldn't even think it!" Karras grinned, turning his sickeningly sweet gaze on her. "You're lucky to have such a wonderful _s'lor, _my sweet princess."

She glared at him. "Eat _ickthar, _Karras."

"Every morsel of your kindness is a blessing to me, Your Highness."

A vein throbbed in her temple. Oh, X'Hal, was he going to do that all day? It was official; he had joined the mission to drive her insane. Perhaps it was his way to get her back to Tamaran: In a straight jacket.

She whipped past him, teeth grit. It was, indeed, too early for this.

Trying her best not to imagine him laughing at her while she wasn't looking, she walked to her room with as much dignity as she could muster in an ill-fitting robe and disheveled hair. Robin was right; there have been too many distractions. She would just have to focus, and hopefully, she could get through the day without killing Karras.

88888888888888888888888888

"Oh, sweet princess, might you be so wonderful as to pour a cup for this unworthy _rulad_?"

Starfire trembled with fury, and if it wasn't such an awful thing to do, she would have flung the steaming hot coffee right in Karras' crotch. He was holding out his mug, an angelic smile on his face. Her grip on the coffeepot handle tightened and she felt heat building up at the back of her eyes.

She closed her eyes, counting to ten.

Someone giggled. It was Beast Boy. She whipped her gaze at him, eyes aglow. She might have emitted a roar.

"Eep!" Beast Boy scurried to safety behind Cyborg and Raven.

She simmered. It was not Beast Boy's fault that Karras wanted to torment her. Shaking ever so slightly, she forced a smile on her face. Perhaps if she smiled a certain way, her fangs would not show. "Cer-tain-ly," she said in careful syllables. She managed to pour Karras a cup.

"Thank you, Exalted One."

She kept the smile firmly pasted, sucking and expelling a breath through her teeth. Quickly, before he could smear on anymore of his gooey obsequiousness, she hurried to take her place on the counter between Galfore and Robin. It was a somewhat tight fit, but between the two men she trusted most in her life, she felt protected.

"X'Hal save me from his sugar-coated daggers," she muttered, shooting Karras a malignant glare as he spoke to Taryia.

Galfore chuckled. "And how long has he been doing this?"

Robin, without looking up from the daily paper, replied. "Since early this morning, before the rest of you got here."

Galfore took a dainty sip of his coffee, the mug looking miniscule in his huge hands. "Koriand'r, do you want me to order him to stop?"

Starfire scowled. "And make him think he has won? Absolutely not! Let him look the fool… calling me such _ridiculous _names…"

Robin shrugged. "I don't know. That Rainbow Sunshine Muffin kinda had nice ring to it."

"Robin, do not even dare. I will _never_ speak to you_ again, _if you do."

He chuckled. "Easy, tiger. Don't bite _my _head off."

She calmed herself, blushing. "I am sorry. I did not mean to snap at you."

His only reply was a soft laugh and a quick squeeze of her shoulder to say that all was forgiven.

Starfire tried to clear her mind by concentrating on her Eggo French Toaster sticks. It wasn't "Azarath, Metroin, Zinthos," but it did its job.

It was half-past eight in the morning when Robin called everyone to the Conference Room.

As they settled around the table, Robin led the discussion. "First thing's first. Galfore, what do you know about our Blackfire problems?"

Starfire noted the split-second flinch on Galfore's cheek. While he had hardly ever looked upon Blackfire with the kind of affection he had for Starfire, he had never borne contempt for the iron-willed Komand'r. He had, after all, watched her grow up as well. He had seen Blackfire and Starfire as sisters, and once upon a time, he would have given his life for either of them. Referring to Blackfire as a "problem" was somewhat jarring.

"Only what Koriand'r had told us through her messages," said Galfore. "It was difficult to bring such a message to my superiors. I have faith in Starfire. It is a virtue ingrained in me since the day Koriand'r was born, but the generals, senators and… the king…"

Starfire kept her gaze steady on him, never flinching.

"… The Core leaders of Tamaran were hard pressed to believe the information. One could hardly blame them. For any of them to act, they need proof. And while we were able to confirm Blackfire's exploits with the Centari police, that can hardly be considered proof that she means to harm an entire star system."

Starfire frowned. "What about the Wrath of Auron? Did not my father care that the project might be revived by her, whatever it was? It was certainly awful enough for a group of brilliant Earth scientists to turn down the commission. Does the mention of the project not alarm him?"

Galfore sighed. "Perhaps he considers it, but remember, princess: that project was not so widely known as to be talked about casually. The stories about the Wrath of Auron project are shrouded in lore; stuff Tamaran's conspiracy theorists thrive on. Whether there is any truth to it or not, I have no way of knowing for there are no records of it in any of the archives."

"But I heard mother and father speak of it! I saw brilliant stones being spirited into the castle by mysterious messengers! I know those gems had something to do with it!"

"You were a child then, Koriand'r. Do you think a panel of wizened, intelligent, elitist senators would give credence to your decade-old testimony? And from when you were seven, too. You know they would not."

Starfire's shoulders slumped. He was right, of course, but it did not change the fact that the disregard of the council, however founded, could be a potentially fatal mistake.

"The Legionbelieves you, Your Highness," said Taryia in her passionate tone. "Lead us, and we will not need the affirmation of generals and kings to follow your commands."

Galfore's gaze darted to her, for the first time looking terribly incensed. "Taryia, mind your tongue!"

Starfire could not help but stare at Galfore in awe. She had never seen him so blatantly displeased. There was suddenly a dead silence in the room and carefully, she watched for Taryia's reaction. Taryia's words were, for the most part, seditious. Starfire noticed that Taryia had a tendency to speak so, but she also noticed that Taryia's devotion was alarmingly steered in Starfire's direction.

The fact was unsettling. Starfire had to wonder if it was just Taryia who felt this way, or whether there were many in the army like her.

Taryia did not soften the set of her chin, but her cheeks flared red. "I apologize, Captain. I spoke out of turn."

Starfire looked at Karras, wondering where he stood in the little drama. He bore no expression and she could not tell if he agreed with Taryia or thought Taryia mad for showing such devotion to the brat princess. All he did was lean back on his seat, his gaze pensive upon his co-lieutenant.

Galfore nodded, though he continued to look stern, as if he could not really get over the fact that Taryia had spoken so. "Apology acknowledged, lieutenant."

Taryia's cheek flinched ever so slightly.

Starfire could not help but be bothered by Galfore's words. "Acknowledged," he had said. Not quite "accepted."

Raven leaned forward and Starfire felt a barely discernable breath of calm.

Around Starfire, she could see tense shoulders relaxing. It was just like Raven to do that sort of thing. Whether she did it in consideration of everyone or because the frayed nerves of others put her on edge, Starfire would never know. It hardly mattered anyway. It worked to everyone's benefit.

"Starfire, these gems you're talking about," said Raven. "Where did they come from? Who delivered them?"

Starfire shook her head. "I do not know. I mean… no one really bothered to tell me where they came from… there were messengers, I suppose…"

"Could you remember what they looked like? What they wore?"

Starfire wondered where Raven was getting at, and she could see from the faces of everyone on the table that they were wondering as well. Beast Boy was already getting fidgety. He was probably beginning to feel left out again, no doubt thinking that everyone else might have figured it out already while he was still in a state of confusion.

She hesitated, uncertain. She had been so young; practically unconcerned. She couldn't even be certain if her memory was reliable on that aspect.

Robin nodded. "Try to remember, Starfire."

She shouldn't have been surprised that Robin had caught on faster than the rest of them to whatever Raven was thinking. She concentrated on trying to recall and she did remember one incident where she had caught a glimpse of a stranger standing in the middle of the Great Hall, his skin like red leather, his straight silver hair tied back in a loose pony tail. He looked young, like one newly matured; thirteen, or maybe fourteen. He had looked weary, like he had traveled a long way, and it marred his pleasant features. He had wandered briefly to her grandfather's painting and was astonished when he actually lifted himself into the air to stare into the image's eyes. But all that aside, what caught Starfire's attention the most was his clothing; his clothes were plain; utilitarian. The colors of his dress were distinct, and the material of his top and trousers seemed to be of good quality, but there was absolutely nothing fancy about the ensemble. This was odd because none but the highest and finest of Vega were allowed to walk the Great Hall of Korithus. Who then, was the plainly dressed stranger given leave to walk the halls of great men?

"There was a boy… a young man, I suppose, in the Great Hall of Korithus, once," she said. "I remember him because—" she paused, blushing painfully at what she had to say "—because he did not look like he belonged."

The Titans looked perplexed, but Galfore, Taryia and Karras seemed to have understood perfectly.

"Lower caste," said Karras in a matter-of-fact tone.

Starfire frowned. She hadn't meant it like that, exactly. Tamaran did not have a caste system, but Kalapatt used to. It was abolished in Kalapatt more than half a century ago, but the ideology was still a long way from disappearing.

Cyborg grimaced. "You have a caste system?"

"We do not!" cried Starfire. "We never did. Kalapatt used to, but it was abolished some eighty years ago. That man I saw in the Great Hall was _not _lower caste. But—But…" Again, a painful blush fell upon her.

Galfore smiled sagely. "He did not seem like the kind of person who would be invited to grace the Great Hall. The Great Hall of Korithus welcomes kings and queens, their sons and daughters _and_ only the most distinguished among Vega's nobility. I have walked in it, only because of my duties to Koriand'r, but other than that, I dared not step into it without permission."

"This stranger, then," said Raven. "Did he look like a messenger?"

Starfire shrugged. "I could not be sure, but father came to see him personally and accept a package from him. I did not see what was in the package. Father ordered that the stranger be given a place to sleep, some food and supplies for his trip back. It sounded like he was a messenger but I did not really investigate. I had other problems at the time…" She had been seven, and Blackfire had just recently failed her trials. It was her turn to take the tests, and she had been given leave to go home before her trials could be undertaken. She had been wrought with emotion; sympathy for her sister who lay battered in her room; nervousness for what she was about to face in Okaara; fear for the pain test-takers had to endure during the trial. There were other things to think about; she had not needed to add mysterious strangers to her list of anxieties.

"Was he Tamaranian?" asked Robin.

"He did not look like he was, but he spoke the language very fluently, and he could fly. Maybe he was a mix of Tamaranian and something else. I do not know. I did not ask and quite honestly, I had not really cared all that much. Why is it important?"

Robin looked to Raven.

She nodded. "It was possible that there were rulers from other planets who were involved with the project. Maybe it was just that your father headed it. I'm asking about the messengers because sometimes, messengers carry the colors of their liege. If we could identify a messenger with a foreign realm, maybe someone could investigate the project from that realm; beyond Tamaran, so to speak. The king of Tamaran may not be amenable to sharing information, but others might be more willing."

"It's a conspiracy…" said Beast Boy, wide-eyed.

Robin looked thoughtful at Beast Boy's words. "Starfire, _who _were usually invited to the Great Hall? Who were the rulers your father kept company with the most?"

She smiled apologetically. "The Great Hall was not often used by the time I had the sense to understand the politics that went on in it. There was an impending war. I did not see my father keeping company with the other rulers of the realm."

"I saw," said Galfore. "I could identify a few. King Tharras was among them."

Starfire looked to Karras and the rest followed suit. It was Karras' father.

Karras' reaction was restrained. "His Majesty did not speak of such a project. The princess' message to Galfore was the first time I heard of it."

_His Majesty, _he had called his father. Starfire knew Karras regarded his father with great formality; as if they weren't related at all. There was no hate, but affection was not apparent. They might have had a warmer relationship when no one was looking, but Starfire would not be surprised if that were not so. Royal children were rarely so affectionate with their parents.

"You could ask him about it," she said.

Karras scoffed, crossing his arms over his chest and leaning back on his chair. "My dear, delightful princess, if His Majesty did not see it fit to tell me about it without prompting then he would not deem it necessary to answer such questions from the prince."

She bit back an acid retort for his stupid endearments. "You are his son."

"And you, Your beautiful Highness, are King Myand'r's daughter. What's your point?"

She shifted on her seat uncomfortably. Such a sad image of filial want the two of them made.

_If I ever have children, I would love them dearly and I would show it, _she thought with random conviction. It did not, however, make her feel any less embarrassed to be so obviously lacking in parental affection. She raised her chin stubbornly. "Ask him, anyway. I do not care if he sends you to your room for your insolence and for insubordination. Just ask. This is important."

"Send me to my room?" He laughed bitterly. "You think that is all he will do to me? He will not tolerate such matters of state in private conference, which means I will have to present the question in the presence of council. If he denies it in public and still I insist on the point, he will be bound by law to act on my ill behavior. He will send me to the dungeons for contempt, and it will not matter if I am prince. I get five lashes anyway! That is the punishment for incensing and insulting the king by Kalapattian law. He cannot give exception to me or he will seem weak. What did you think?"

"Dude," said Beast Boy, shocked. "Your pops would do that to you?"

"Pops?"

"Your old man,"

"Old—?"

Starfire sighed, exasperated. She cut in before Beast Boy could give Karras another answer that would confuse the prince even more. "Oh, for X'Hal's sake, your _father!" _

Karras' eyebrow arched, but her explanation, however impatiently put, got him back on track. "Yes, my 'pops' would do that to me. It is the way of kings. I did not make the rules. But… I will do it. I _will _ask. Maybe I'll get lucky and he will be in a good mood," he muttered.

Starfire swallowed the sudden surge of guilt that threatened to choke her. The last thing she wanted to feel for Karras was compassion, but it could not be helped. His words had painted an all-too dire picture of Kalapattian laws at work. King Tharras had not seemed like a cruel man when she met him. Serious, yes. Rigid, most definitely. But he had also seemed fair, if he was a bit unyielding. It was those very traits that made Karras' words all the more plausible. He would allow his son to be lashed because it was the law.

Cyborg made a face. "Harsh, man. Maybe you really don't have to."

The arrogant look on Karras' face increased, ten fold, and he cocked a smile. "No. It will be fine. It would not be the first time I incensed my king in public."

That was not hard to believe at all.

"At any rate," said Robin. "There are other options of proving that Blackfire's been busy. Cyborg, any progress on finding out Blackfire's travel path?"

Cyborg nodded. "I'm working on something, but I have a few points I have to research with BB, later. Raven and I are coordinating with Aqualad on the possibilities and hopefully, we'll have something more concrete in a day or two."

"Good. Raven? You're in constant communication with Aqualad. Has he had any significant reports?"

"He's following a lead… towards San Juan, Puerto Rico."

Robin raised an eyebrow. "Puerto Rico?"

"He didn't say much. He also mentioned something about Miami, but he wasn't clear about it at all. He really seemed reluctant to talk about it, but he promised he would have a full and comprehensive report once he was certain about everything."

Robin's brows knotted. Starfire could tell that something had struck him. "Puerto Rico and Miami… intriguing. Let me know as soon as you hear from him."

Raven nodded.

Robin looked around him. "Anything else?"

Beast Boy nudged Cyborg and Cyborg made a gesture telling him to be patient.

"Galfore, we have a request," Cyborg said. "BB and I would like to study some of your ship's technology. We just have a few questions, actually, but it would really help if we could meet with your ship's engineer. We don't want to be a bother, but we'd be grateful if you could—"

"Say no more. Of course I would be happy to grant your request," said Galfore in his easy, welcoming tone. "I will bring you to the ship myself; introduce you to… let us see, ah! Wyfern would be more than willing to help you with all your questions. A bit strange, maybe, but I believe more likeable than Atol."

"Atol has a rod sticking up his—"

"Karras!" cried Taryia before he could finish.

Cyrborg smiled. "Wyfern sounds like a nice guy."

Galfore chuckled. "Wyfern is a _she."_

Beast Boy and Cyborg looked at each other and grinned. "Even better!" they said in unison.

Starfire rolled her eyes, laughing softly. "I will join you on this trip. I must meet with the other _rulad _and the rest of the unit."

Galfore beamed, approving of it. "Yes. My unit would appreciate it greatly; to see their princess up close and personal. And if Robin is not too busy, would he be so kind as to come with us as well?"

Robin and Starfire's eyebrows arched at the same time.

Starfire had a feeling Robin wasn't asked to come as her leader; he was being asked to come as her _s'lor, _and by the look on Robin's face, he knew it too. But that was about as much resistance on the matter Robin showed.

He accepted the invitation gladly, telling Raven that she would have to man the tower by herself in their absence. "You gonna be okay alone?"

Raven arched an eyebrow. "No. I am terrified of being alone. It is my greatest fear in life, which is why I like locking myself in my room with a 'Do not disturb' sign on my door."

"Okay, okay. Stupid question."

She cocked a barely discernible grin.

Galfore nodded. "We will take the gyrocraft then?"

Beast Boy grinned. "Gyrocraft! That's a wicked cool name for good ol' T-Chopper."

"How soon before we could take off for the landing site, Cy?" Robin asked.

"T-Chopper's always ready, champ."

"Good. Titans, let's fly."

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There were even more reporters circling the perimeter of the forest on the Tamaranians' second day, but security was effective. No one appeared to be getting through the barricades. It was not much of a problem, anyway. As of yet, there were no mobs insisting on passage. It would however be no surprise should mobs form. However common alien visits have become in the last five years, the last Thanagarian "visit" put more than a few Earthlings on edge.

The Titans arrived at the landing site without incident, and upon touchdown, they were met by _Rulad_ Luren, Jak'r and Sul-Dharr.

The Tamaranians were quick to give formal greeting to Starfire, telling her how honored they were to be graced by her presence in their camp. They spoke in the native tongue, yet it was clear that they were offering her a great deal more respect that she felt she deserved.

Starfire stifled any show of embarrassment, graciously telling them that it was her pleasure to come visit.

Jak'r, the one who delivered the formal speech, was a pleasant-featured young man of typical Tamaranian build. His orange hair was tied back in a pristine ponytail. He had standard issue weapons strapped around his hips, but unlike his brethren, he did not seem to carry a custom sword. He did, however, wear odd looking amplifiers on his hands. He was eager and perhaps a bit naïve. There was hardly anything hardened about him. His colleagues watched him with fond amusement, and Starfire figured he must be one of the newer recruits. He was about to insist on something more, probably to tell her that the honor was all theirs, or something along those lines, when Galfore spoke in English.

"I believe my _rulad _have not been formally introduced to Robin and the others." Galfore reintroduced Robin, Cyborg and Beast Boy, speaking alternately between English and Tamaranian. The Titans clasped hands with the _rulad _and Starfire immediately saw the spark of language absorption with Luren and Jak'r. Sul-Dharr had on a translator; one similar to Karras'. After introductions were made, Galfore gestured to Jak'r. "Jak'r was in intelligence before he asked to be transferred to my unit. He is brilliant in the head, and as you could see, _polite."_

"Aye," said Luren with a sparkle in his eyes. "We have not quite beaten that out of him just yet."

The rest of the _rulad _laughed at this; even Sul-Dharr who seemed so grave and menacing at first glance.

Luren nudged Jak'r good naturedly, causing a blush to tinge Jak'r's cheeks.

Luren was tall and gangly; almost painfully thin, but his muscles looked to be rock solid. There wasn't an ounce of fat on him. He wore his auburn hair shorter than most men's, but while his hair wasn't the least bit cropped, it did not get past his shoulders, and the trailing ringlets tumbled all over his head and sharply featured face. Luren was much more laden with ammunition than the rest of them. It was likely he was not blessed with starbolts, but it did not seem to matter to him. Aside from the weapons weighing down his hips and arms, he had two short swords crossed at his back. The sinews on his ripped arms proved that he could wield them.

Starfire turned and offered Luren and Sul-Dharr a smile. Sul-Dharr stood straight back, arms crossed over his chest. While he was not as big as Galfore, he was the biggest among his rank. His biceps looked to be as thick as her thigh, probably thicker, and his breadth was broad, almost like it stretched his caramel colored skin taut. His golden eyes shone stark against his feral features, but they were beautiful in their feline quality. His fiery red hair looked like a lion's mane, and when he smiled, Starfire could make out the slight jut of K-9s. She tried not to look surprised. She hadn't realized Hnyxxens had fangs. The fact that Sul-Dharr only carried one massive sword as his weapon made Starfire wonder if he used those teeth in combat. It was not exactly a savory thought, to have one like Sul-Dharr biting down on one's spine.

"He is jesting, of course," stammered Jak'r. "They would not really—you know, beat me… Your Highness…" His gaze nervously darted to Robin. _"S'lor… _captain…"

Robin's cheek twitched very slightly at that.

Starfire hastily proffered him a kind smile. "I—um—know they would not, Jak'r _dai Rulad." _

He looked ready to explode with the brilliant flush that rose up his face.

"Luren is my one failure," said Galfore in a light, teasing tone.

"Captain!" gasped Luren, clutching at his heart. "You injure me with your words!"

He looked anything _but _hurt. It was clear that Luren was the liveliest one of them all, thriving on attention, but he was pleasant enough for everyone to oblige him his vice.

Beast Boy laughed, leaning towards Starfire. "He's funny."

"You'd think so," Cyborg, who heard him, said in a wry tone.

Galfore gestured to the Hnyxxen. "And here, Sul-Dharr, is perhaps the one man that could scare the living daylights out of _my _demons."

Sul-Dharr grinned, fangs flashing. He chuckled, and the sound was so deep it could only have come from the very dark depths of him. "You have no demons, Captain." His honeyed baritone fit the vicious beauty he possessed.

"But if I did, they would be afraid of you."

Cyborg leaned towards Starfire. "He's phat, yo."

Starfire had known Cyborg long enough to understand that "phat" did not mean overweight. She giggled. "You would think so."

"The camp is most eager to receive Her Highness and her party," said Luren with a grand flourish. "Shall we?"

Starfire looked to Robin who nodded. He let her lead.

When they arrived at camp, everyone was at attention, lined up in perfect rows and columns. Jak'r called something out in Tamaranian and the entire troupe responded in crisp unison.

Stifling a sigh, Starfire watched the display with perfect grace. Jak'r led the troupe in a formal salute and then held them at attention.

Starfire managed to respond with dignity, responding to Jak'r in traditional Tamaranian, acknowledging the honor of being served by the Imperial Legion. Jak'r looked terribly pleased and Starfire tried not to listen to the snickering she heard, not from Beast Boy or Cyborg, but from the other _rulad_.

"Jak'r, you may tell your men to go back to their duties," she said.

Jak'r nodded, ordering his men to disperse. They made a final show of respect before they briskly scattered back to their work.

Busy as they all were, Starfire could not help noticing how several of them kept stealing furtive glances at her. She would have to make the rounds; show interest in them and their work, and hopefully, she could be among them and _not _get treated too much like a princess.

Finally unable to help herself, Starfire leaned closer to Robin. "I am embarrassed by all this," she muttered, through her teeth, managing to keep her smile firmly pasted on.

He chuckled. "Just because you ran away from home, doesn't mean they forgot you were their princess."

"Well, I do not have to endure this treatment for long. Hopefully, after I interact with them, they will do away with these formalities…"

Luren chuckled. "Jak'r would have no such thing."

Starfire turned her gaze on him, eyes wide. He had heard. She stammered to explain herself. "I—I appreciate all this, of course, but—"

"I for one am glad you do not stand for ceremony," said Luren. "I tried to tell Jak'r that eight years away from court had probably ruined your taste for such ridiculous niceties, but would he listen to me? Noooo. Besides, Karras did not exactly paint a demure picture of you, at least to me. I would have bet my life you were less princess and more—ahem—warrior."

She had a feeling Karras had described her with less savory names. How mortifying. She groaned in despair. "Oh, prayer of Branx…" It was interesting how she had begun readapting the best of Tamaranian curses. "How _wonderful _of Karras to fill you in on the details."

"Karras had always been full of _ickthar. _I do not believe ninety nine percent of what he says."

"Oh please," Karras said from behind them. "If it were not for me, you would be in trouble up to your eyeballs."

"You see? He gives me no reason to believe him."

Starfire grinned. She liked Luren already. But what a flirt, he was! She wondered if Robin was taking any offense to it, but he seemed unbothered; amused even. Perhaps he knew, deep down, that Luren understood who Robin was in the Tamaranian scheme of things.

Karras scoffed, but it was obvious that he was holding back a smile. "I should have known you would be abandoning your loyalties to find favor with the princess."

"Hush, Karras. You are just some prince from some planet. I would abandon you in a heartbeat for the princess Koriand'r, who, if you have forgotten, is the princess of _my _planet."

"Bah! Sell out."

Luren laughed.

"Luren," barked Galfore. "Stop licking the princess' boots and get Wyfern up here!"

"Aye, sir!" Luren hurried off, giving a rushed and exaggerated bow to Starfire and Robin then exchanging friendly nudges with Karras.

Galfore ushered his lieutenants in conference with the Titans. "Sul-Dharr and Taryia, you will accompany the Titans with Wyfern, just so the men do not bully Wyfern so much. The Titans are busy; they do not have time to waste on silly banter."

Taryia and Sul-Dharr exchanged smiles.

"It will be done, captain," said Sul-Dharr. His buttery voice could lull anyone into submission.

The titans looked to Robin.

"I'm going with Cyborg and Beast Boy," he said. "Starfire? You have other matters to attend to, I think. We could handle the engineering aspect for now. You have to see to your people."

She felt her stomach churn at that. A little voice in her head was insisting that she go with the titans, yet she knew she owed the men and women in the unit her time and interest.

She nodded. "Yes. I would very much like to know them."

Galfore smiled. "Then it is set. The princess desires to make the rounds. We will be escorting her around camp; Karras, Jak'r and I. Luren, too, when he gets back. That clown is entertaining if he does not get half my men killed in battle with his crazy strategies." However deprecating his assessment of Luren was, Starfire noted the humor in Galfore's eyes. She had a feeling that crazy as Luren was, Galfore counted him among the few men he could trust with his life.

Luren soon returned, Wyfern shoving his arm from off her shoulder. She was a tiny woman, with her black hair tied in a bun with strange, unflattering wires. She had smudges on her face and hands and her clothed had seen better days. Strange goggles hung from her neck and her hips were strapped with the strangest tools Starfire had ever seen. She hurried on ahead of Luren in a flying glide, violet eyes livid with scorn, though Luren only laughed at her.

Still shooting daggers at Luren, she landed before Galfore, looking dwarfish compared to his mass.

"You called, captain?" she asked in Tamaranian, just then turning her gaze to him and the rest of the group. Her eyes widened the moment her gaze rested on Starfire, and then Robin. "Sweet X'Hal singing!" Her dirtied hands went to her hair self-consciously, but perhaps realizing her fingers were blackened from what was probably engine grease, she snatched them back down, hiding them behind her back as she took a straight backed stance, much like an awkward soldier at attention.

Starfire cocked a smile and sighed, rolling her eyes.

"Wait! I'll do it!" cried Beast Boy, pushing his way through the bulk of men and women. Wyfern looked at him, momentarily mystified. When he poked her she yelped and instantly, she was speaking in the English language.

She looked half-perplexed, half-displeased. "Goodness!" she gasped. "What—!"

Beast Boy grinned.

Galfore chuckled with the rest of his lieutenants, putting a placating hand on Wyfern's shoulder. "Wyfern, this gentleman who obliged you his language is Beast Boy. This fine young man is Cyborg. They are two of the princess' best friends."

Beast Boy and Cyborg waved. She merely stared, overwhelmed.

"And then of course… you know Princess Koriand'r and Robin."

Starfire was unable to avoid Robin's pointed gaze. Since when was Robin a known figure in this miniature, Tamaranian society? Since he was marked as _s'lor, _most likely.

Wyfern swallowed. "I am—that is to say—honored… if I had known I would be meeting Her Highness and His Lordship I would have endeavored to look more presentable…"

Robin blinked in shock. "L-Lord—?"

Beast Boy's eyes sparkled, and he was about to say something—no doubt in Robin's expense—when Cyborg clamped a hand on Beast Boy's mouth.

Starfire grasped Robin's arm, squeezing gently to interrupt his protest. It was a title of respect given to one in Robin's "status". She should have warned him about it, but it was an awkward enough subject between them. It was difficult to discuss such details. "We would not have preferred to meet you any other way, Wyfern. Nothing is better than seeing an engineer hard at work."

The flush that rose in Wyfern's cheeks was amazing.

"Wyfern," said Galfore. "You will escort Cyborg, Beast Boy and—ahem—their captain, Robin, around the engineering chambers of the main ship. They will have questions about the ship's functions and I trust that you are the best person to give them answers."

"Of course, captain!"

"Excellent. Start with the power core. It is quite the awesome sight, after all."

"Aye, aye, sir! Anytime they are ready, captain."

Galfore nodded, turning a questioning eye at Robin.

Robin met gazes with Cyborg and Beast Boy, tilting his head to gesture that they begin the tour. He stepped up beside Wyfern who stared up at him like he was some sort of deity she was afraid to offend.

He cocked a grin. "I'm not going to smite you, you know."

She blinked in surprise; shock, really.

Cyborg laughed. "We'll be right behind you, Lord Robin."

"Shut-up, Cy."

Beast Boy doubled over in hyena-like laughter. "Maketh us, shut-upeth, oh lordeth Robineth!"

Robin rolled his eyes and Starfire giggled. He looked at her over her shoulder. "We'll see you later, Star."

She nodded. The titans left with Wyfern, Taryia and Sul-Dharr, heading towards the clearing. She watched them get beamed up in the ship and wondered what Beast Boy would say about the experience.

Luren bounced to her side, speaking in easy, Tamaranian speech. "They are roasting a mean one-eyed _yarkwort _over there at the end of the clearing. It is glazed with a delicate _zorkaberry _base sauce. Do you wish to partake? We are still too afraid to hunt anything on Earth, lest we end up eating an intelligent life-form…"

Jak'r gasped. "L-Luren!"

"Oh, relax, Jak'r," said Karras, picking at something in his teeth. "It is just the princess. She's sweeter than candy"

Starfire hadn't missed the sarcasm in his tone.

"K-Karras!" cried Jak'r in an even more horrified tone.

Galfore clapped a hand over Jak'r's shoulder. "Come, my genteel young _rulad, _I will let you lead this immersion, and yes, Luren, I think that is a splendid suggestion. Koriand'r?"

"A wonderful idea! I have never—er—tasted a _yarkwort. _Is it a new species in Tamaran?"

"No," said Luren. "They are from Euphorix, but they are delicious."

"Then I look forward to this treat."

As a group, with Jak'r frowning at the gross informality of their treatment of the princess, they followed the sweet, roasted aroma of zorkaberries.

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Starfire had lost track of the time, sitting around the campfire with the captain, his lieutenants and the rest of the unit. So quickly after she first joined the chefs at the fire, everyone else had taken their seats around her, and with Luren leading the conversation, everyone around the pit laughed and jeered like brothers and sisters in camp.

It was rather difficult at first for Starfire to catch on with the jokes. Humor was never one of her strong points, but Jak'r sat by her, frantically explaining everything lest—horror of horrors—the princess felt left out.

Everyone poked fun at him for it, but it added to the merriment, and soon, Starfire was laughing as spontaneously along with them.

Karras was strangely amicable. She and he would frown at each other when they met gazes, but they exchanged no impolite words. It was just as well for Karras. The entire camp showed her respect, and she felt they had no reason to dislike her. If Karras said anything untoward, her wrath would be the least of his worries.

She found, instead, that Karras directed his insults at Luren, who answered with the same casual disregard. Yet, it was clear to see that they were great friends. After exchanging crass words about each other's mothers, Luren would sit by Karras and hand him a canteen of sorts, out of which Karras would happily partake. Then they would exchange a one-liner joke that only the two of them could understand.

Starfire also noticed that Galfore had sat back and let his _rulad _take center stage. He smiled his wizened smile, as if amused by the antics of his children, and he would nod several times, approving of what was said, laughing when the words bordered on inappropriate.

When the Tamaranian wine was passed all around, Starfire took a cup willingly, but she nursed it. She did not plan to ingest more than that one fill.

Later on, the gathering became less unified and groups formed all around. Several members of the unit approached Starfire shyly, introducing themselves personally and telling her one thing or another about themselves. Starfire swore to herself that she would remember every single one who ventured to speak to her. She took a sincere interest in their role with the unit and she tried, as best she could, to be worthy of these brave men and women.

More than once, she was asked about Robin, whether he would come back with them to Tamaran, or whether he was the jealous type (a common thing to ask when talking about _s'lor)_, or whether he was a noble in this Water Planet called Earth. She faltered in all three questions, barely surviving the inquiry. She did not know how to tell them that she would not be going back with them to Tamaran; that Robin _could not _yet come to grips with his Tamaranian status; that Robin's social standing on Earth was in no way a factor in her relationship with him. There was too much to explain for her to give concise, straightforward answers.

Each time she stumbled in her replies, Karras would shoot her a mocking glare. It made things worse. She was grateful for every time Galfore saved her, for even Luren, so much the model of good humor and cheer, found her evasive replies confusing.

Eventually, Luren himself did the asking. "He _is _your heart's consort, is he not?"

It was an informal way of putting it, "Heart's Consort." Perhaps it was more romantic than the formal term, but Starfire found she preferred it. "Yes, if you put it that way."

He did not ask about the peculiar way she had replied. "He takes good care of you, princess?"

She smiled. "Of course he does, Luren."

"He understands the importance of his status?"

It was a bit harder to answer that question, but she did. "Yes, he understands, though it is difficult for him to… adopt it. He is not Tamaranian, or even Vegan. There is a twenty-six light year distance between our customs and his."

Luren frowned, barely comprehending it. "But it is an honor, princess. If I were him, I would be lording it over all these fools." He swept his hand over the other _rulad. _

Jak'r grimaced. "What will he say next?"

Karras scoffed. "Like you could lord it over me, Luren."

Luren grinned. "You do not count. You are a worthless Kalapattian; inferior to us Tamaranians."

"Oh, am I?" Karras grinned.

"Absolutely!" Luren turned his attention back to Starfire, gathering her hands in his. "I would be happy to be your _s'lor _princess. Just say the word, and I will prostrate myself at your feet with utmost devotion. Ask anything! By the by, have I told you how beautiful I think you are—?"

"Alright lad," said Galfore, giving Luren a friendly pat on the shoulder. "You do not wish to embarrass yourself further."

Jak'r sighed, eyes rolling to the heavens. "X'Hal save you, Luren. You are a disgrace to this unit."

Luren pouted, releasing Starfire's hands to cross his arms over his chest. "What? What did I do?"

Starfire tried not to laugh, somewhat unsure of where Luren's pranks began and his earnestness ended.

It was Galfore who shook with laughter, leading Luren and Jak'r away all of a sudden. "Walk with me, lads. I have an important matter to discuss with you."

"Remember my offer, princess!" cried Luren as he let Galfore usher him away.

It was the strangest thing to suddenly find herself alone with Karras. She watched Galfore walk away, gaping. When she looked at Karras, she scowled.

He raised an eyebrow. "I have a thing or two to say to you, princess, and make no mistake about it; I will not be kissing your behind like the rest of the unit."

"You do those good men and women dishonor by judging their intentions, Karras."

There was a moment's pause, as if her words had struck him true. He expelled a soft breath. "Indeed. I take that back. I am honored to serve with every single one of them, but it does not change the fact that you will not like what I have to say to you."

"Say it."

"You do _them _dishonor by refusing to go back to Tamaran."

She glared at him, her temper bubbling beneath the surface. "We have discussed this before, Karras. Tamaran has no need of me."

"No urgent need, perhaps, but you know you must go back anyway." He cocked a smile, crossing his arms over his chest. "Look at yourself right now. What are you doing in this camp? Why are you here? There was no need to meet with the soldiers. There was no need to sit with them around a fire and share the mid-afternoon meal. Yet you felt you should. And dare I say you wanted to, anyway? You saw how they respected you; admired you. Every single man in this unit would die for you, Koriand'r."

She scoffed, trying to pretend she hadn't heard the rest of his words. "Not everyone, Karras. Or am I wrong?"

He let out a bitter laugh. "You think I would not take a fatal blow for you? I think you are a selfish, spoiled and unyielding brat, but I know my duties to this army. I know my duties to the people. Besides, I would shame my father if I did not get between you and harm's way… not to mention the fact that Galfore would skin me alive if I was ever so negligent."

Her fists clenched. "Why are you here, Karras? Why did you join this mission at all? You are a prince of the realm. You could have stayed in Vega; serviced the army from there. Certainly, you did not have to endure my unpleasant company!"

"I volunteered to be here, yes, for two things. First, because I belong with the rest of the _rulad _and I will not let a whiny little princess get in the way of the brotherhood I share with them. Second, I do love a challenge, and knowing you will be difficult, I was more than willing to come here. Depend upon it princess, I, and no one else, would be able to convince you to come back to Tamaran with us. I spoke to my captain about this last night. I asked him if I could try my hand at convincing you myself. He was skeptical, but he knows when to trust me. I will not disappoint my captain. I will do what I can, regardless of what the others do to try and convince you. They could plead and cajole and try to soften your will with their gentle persuasions, but knowing you, none of those things will work. You are bullheaded and contrary and that is what you will always be. I know this of you, so it will be I who will succeed in beating the inevitable into your stubborn head."

She growled, glaring at him. "You? Convince me? Karras, does your captain know you are here to sabotage the mission?"

He scoffed. "Say what you will, you malicious little snit."

She didn't want to listen to him anymore. "There is absolutely nothing you could say to me, Karras, that would ever make me heed you. You have been nothing but rude to me, you call me names, you think me no better than the dirt under your shoe and I despise you exceedingly! Why on Earth did you even think you could convince me to return to Tamaran?"

He cocked a grin. "Because I am a handsome demon of a prince that no woman has managed to resist, my lovely buttercup?"

Furious, she stalked past him. "Ugh! Please _stay away _from me, you repulsive, insufferable—argh!" She needed to find Robin and the others before she murdered Karras in cold blood.

"I will make a deal with you, Koriand'r. Do you think you are man enough to handle it?"

His words thrummed in her ears. She whirled around, her stance rigid. "I could handle anything you dish out, Karras!"

"Then we could settle this the way we usually settle our arguments." His lips stretched into an acid smile.

She scowled. "We usually do that with fighting, Karras. Armed, no less. Do not tempt me. Right now, I want nothing more than to _hurt _you."

He smiled. "Then this will work out splendidly, don't you think?"

She scoffed at the mere idea. Indeed, she found the prospect of beating him with a stick quite satisfying, but to settle the matter of her leaving or staying on Earth with a brawl? It was silly. "Ridiculous and childish and—"

Karras turned away from her, searching the camp for a few seconds before his eyes rested on the figure of Galfore in the distance. He began to walk briskly towards his captain.

"W-What are you doing?" said Starfire, suddenly worried about the determined look on his face.

He walked past her and she followed, rising in the air to catch up with him.

"Do not drag Galfore into this!" she hissed.

"This matter is more important to him than to any of us," he replied resolutely. "I will have him understand how best to deal with you!"

Before she could say anything more, they reached the group, and Karras was requesting private conference with the captain and the lieutenants.

With Galfore's nod, the subordinate soldiers left without a word of question.

Luren took one look at Karras and Starfire and he grinned knowingly. "Loving one another, as usual?"

Karras shot him a half-derisive, half-tolerant look. "Quiet, commoner. Let the prince speak."

"Whatever you say, butt-plug."

Galfore frowned. "What is this about, Karras?"

"I will offer a deal with the princess, in the presence of my commanding officer and my peers so that any agreement we may come to holds formal and true. She and I will battle for each other's submission right here, in the camp clearing. If she wins, she may stay here on Earth and I will endeavor to convince the Grand Ruler and his family to cross the galaxy and see her."

Starfire was not the only one in the group to gasp in astonishment.

"But if I win," continued Karras, "she must come back to Tamaran with us. Not permanently. She could even bring her friends with her. But she _will _come back with us on this trip."

Starfire gathered her senses. "This is utterly ridiculous! We cannot settle this on a silly little fight—"

"Oh, believe me, Koriand'r, there will be nothing silly about this."

Galfore's expression grew grim and he looked to her. "Do you accept this challenge, princess? He has presented this matter in the presence of his peers and higher officers. His challenge has become formal, and if you agree, binding."

She was shocked to hear him even consider it. "What? But this is—"

"It is a formal challenge," repeated Jak'r. He did not sound the least bit pleased, but it looked as if he had little choice but to accept the situation. "In the presence of three able witnesses, it may as well be set in stone."

Luren looked anxiously at her. "You will accept, won't you, princess?"

Karras sneered and Starfire wanted to ram her fist against his face. What a ridiculous trap Karras had set against her, but how very effective! It had claws like anything.

Teeth grit, she stepped back, brimming with fury. "Karras, 'tis an ill day for you! I accept this challenge, but I will not have you exposing our petty differences to rest of the unit. They will see their leaders dignified! How will you explain this to them without shaming us both?"

He nodded. "Indeed, they need not know the circumstances behind this battle. Luren? Tell them it is an exhibition. Have them betting, if you must. The men love a good fight, after all."

Luren sighed. "Very well."

Jak'r shot Karras a disapproving frown. "Karras, I side with the princess in this. You issue a formal challenge for a matter that shouldn't be settled with swords! Her return to Tamaran must be mete with careful consideration, but because of what you have done, what choice did she have?"

"That is the problem, Jak'r. She _thinks _she has a choice," said Karras in a cold tone.

Luren shook his head, clearly sharing Jak'r's sentiments, but he had other things to attend to at the moment. He turned to one of the many soldiers in the unit, speaking to him in a lowered tone.

Galfore's expression remained impassive.

There was a shimmer in the distant clearing and the touring party appeared, Robin in the lead. Wyfern and Cyborg fell to discussing at once, for whatever had transpired in the ship, they seemed kindred in their interests. Beast Boy looked absolutely animated, probably fascinated by the technology he had only seen on his sci-fi shows until then. Taryia and Sul-Dharr stood by Robin, falling back into serious conversation with him.

When Robin looked up and met eyes with Starfire, his smile was very brief, and it seemed he sensed immediately that something was amiss.

Her heart palpitated with quick beats. She could not bear to explain it to Robin. It was preposterous. Someone else would have to do the explaining for her.

She looked at Karras and she felt her temper flare instantly. She anger, compounded by the aggravation Karras had afforded her for most of the day, fueled her resolve. "How will we do this?"

"With swords."

"You know I am not at my best with a sword."

"You can shoot starbolts and you can fly. Your point?"

She shot him a glare. She wished to strangle him right there.

"You were always better with a short sword than a long one, in any case," said Karras. "Luren? Would you be so kind?"

Luren, still shaking his head, removed one of his swords from his back, sheathed and all. He gave it to Karras and Karras tossed it at Starfire.

Starfire caught the sword with a clink. "Just so you do not go around telling everyone that we were unfairly matched, I _will _not fly. I do not need you becoming sore and making excuses when you lose, Karras."

He chuckled derisively. "Wouldn't think about such a thing."

"What's going on here?" It was Robin, arriving at the scene.

From the corner of her eye, she could see Robin's knotted brows as his gaze shifted between her and Karras.

Still unable to look at him directly, she turned to take her place on the make-shift arena. "Galfore will explain it," she said as she walked off to the other end of the clearing.

She assumed Karras had taken the opposite direction.

All around her, soldiers were already whispering amongst themselves. All it had taken was for Luren to explain to _one _soldier and the news spread like brushfire.

Members of the unit scrambled back, clearing away all things that might pose as obstacles to the fighters. She could hear currency clinking in their hands and pockets and she could see someone taking bets. None of them looked worried; none were more concerned than was necessary in a wager. They thought it was just for show. They thought it was all in fun.

Robin's reaction rang clearly enough through the forest a few seconds later. _"What!" _And whatever he said after that had involved lowered voices, but his expression was one of great displeasure.

She could see him disagreeing with the entire thing, his expression, as he spoke to Galfore, was one of emphatic disapproval. She could almost hear him saying it was stupid; ridiculous; impulsive, yet Galfore's replies to him were calm, soothing. Beast Boy and Cyborg said nothing, but they looked worried. They did not even seem amenable to making a bet, something they often took pleasure in. Perhaps it had more to do with Robin's foul temper at the moment. He looked like he would explode if Beast Boy or Cyborg even _thought _the entire thing was remotely amusing.

Robin was shaking his head as he and the rest of the titans were ushered backward to make room for the fighters. He shook free of Cyborg's grip and stalked towards Starfire. No one stopped him. Whatever he had to say to her, it wasn't to dissuade her, or else Galfore would never have let him approach her, but Starfire was half-afraid she had incurred his wrath.

In the distance, Karras waited, showing no impatience.

Robin was soon standing before her. She braced herself, her grip on her sword tightening.

"You're better with a short sword than a long one," said Robin, to her utter surprise.

She was only slightly relieved. "I… yes. That is what Karras thought as well."

"You remember our drills?"

"I do."

"You remember what they taught you in Okaara?"

More surprises. She had never heard Robin acknowledge her Okaaran training, and she thought maybe he just hadn't noticed her incorporating it with what he had taught her, but she was wrong. He _had _noticed. His reference to it now was surreal. "I remember everything…"

"Calculate his reach from shoulder to hand; hand to tip; shoulder to tip. Use your sword to block, primarily. I know sword-handling isn't your forte, but you have starbolts at your disposal, remember that."

She nodded. "I will not lose this fight, Robin."

He paused, his face rendered impassive by the mask. Then he placed a hand on her shoulder and squeezed. "Just don't get hurt."

They stayed that way another moment before Robin turned to go to back to the spectator line. She watched him for a while before returning her focus to her opponent across the clearing.

Karras smiled, crouching into stance.

She took a deep breath and she centered herself. She played the many forms Robin had taught her in her mind, selecting one that would best fit the situation.

Karras was tall; well-built and she had seen how fast he could go. She selected a technique that might work.

_Flows like water, _Robin had said, describing it. _Height, weight and speed succumb to sheer liquidity. Mass sinks into water and water could force speed to a stop. It's a powerful technique. Just know how to use it. _

She knew what to do and she would do it well. Let Karras underestimate her; it would be her main advantage now.

Starfire went into stance, her resolve firm and all too clear. If on determination alone, the fight could be decided, she would not let Karras win.

Her gaze narrowed at the intensity of her will: _Earth is where my heart lies, so I am staying right where I am._

_To be continued…_

* * *

Author's notes: Is this cliffie deliberate? No. My cliffies are never deliberate. In fact, I'm a little sore that the perfect ending to this chapter that I had envisioned did not come to fruition, but when a story gets away, it is rare that I could get a complete handle on it again. I was definitely planning to finish the fight within the chapter, but oh how long this chapter has become since I started it. The outcome of the fight will have to wait. Who do you think will win?

Thank you all for waiting so long! And as usual, more thanks will be forthcoming!


	12. Extremes

**Standard disclaimers apply. **

**PATH TO TAMARAN**

**Chapter Twelve: Extremes  
**

There was a brief moment in Starfire's mind that was filled with panic. She felt as if her very soul had stepped out of her body and she saw everyone, even herself, waiting for what would happen next.

On one end of the clearing was Karras, ready and confident. He was a soldier, and as could be ascertained from his rank, experienced. One so young did not gain promotion from sitting safely behind an administrative desk, and while his royalty might have advanced him sooner than he deserved, it was not a possibility worth considering in this case. She had seen him with the rest of the unit. They respected him; looked up to him; _liked _him. There was history between him and his men; him and his colleagues. Even Taryia, ever reserved, did not think Karras the least bit abhorrent. Raven herself had indicated Taryia and Karras cared for one another in some measure, though it was difficult to actually see it. All in all, Starfire suddenly felt greatly inadequate in the face of this man which, only a few minutes ago, she thought so little of.

And then there were the other members of the unit: Privates and sergeants… they were smiling. Most of them rooting for her; loyalty bets for the princess they had made into a legend. They thought so highly of her, yet how much of it did she deserve? She believed that her absence from Tamaran was justified; she believed in loving her siblings enough to abandon what once was her home; she believed she had done some real good staying on Earth and fighting crime with her dearest friends; she believed she would stay wherever Robin was, wherever fate took them.

They believed she would do the right thing, but what was the right thing? Should she, after all, let a seemingly ridiculous fight like this decide the outcome of her life?

There was Galfore; strong, decisive and full of love. He had agreed to go with this fight, and that had surprised her. Karras said he had spoken to Galfore previously about trying to convince her to go back to Tamaran. It seemed likely that while Galfore may not agree with Karras' methods, he trusted his lieutenant enough to wait and see.

Cyborg and Beast Boy stood beside her hulking _k'norfka_their faces drawn in worry. Did they believe Karras was better than her, thus their anxiety? No, just that they knew enough about battle to realize that in a fight where all things were squared, anything could happen. She knew that in their hearts, they did not want to see her go. She could be assured of their affection for her.

Robin stood to the other side of Galfore. Behind the mask, he showed no emotion. Yet he watched her; ever intense. He knew her better than anyone in the forest did. In a spar, he could predict her movements; use her weaknesses and encourage her strengths. She could imagine him watching this fight, whispering under his breath for what she should do next; what strategy was best. It was all he could do not to jump in and take over for her. She must not let Robin down.

Her focus returned, her pulse settled and she was whole again.

Starfire took a deep breath and slowly let it out through her lips. She crouched into stance, gripping her sword and sheath firmly. She was ready.

It was Karras who shot across the clearing first.

Determined, she pushed her feet forward, matching his stride. She hadn't taken that many steps before they met. She saw the arc of his weapon and she whipped out her blade, catching his strike with the hard wood of her sheathe. There was a crack, her sheathe against his.

He grinned, as if to tell her she wasn't the only one who thought of the tactic.

Gritting her teeth, she tightened her grip on the hilt of her sword, her blade point towards her, and swung outward in a reverse slash. He blocked it with his sword and made a fluid counter attack. The clash of steel rang through the forest in three quick successions before they both jumped back to recover their footing.

"Oh my, such improvement, Koriand'r," said Karras. "This is going to be better than I thought!"

Starfire couldn't help feeling slightly elated. She could do this. This hardened soldier could be defeated. But a voice of warning whispered in her mind, pushing her to stay on her guard. This feeling of confidence she had was not much different from what she felt when Robin began a sparring session with her. He always boosted her confidence to loosen her up, make her more pliable for when he pushed her to do the more complicated maneuvers of her training. Only, in this fight with Karras, the warm up was not for her benefit but his. He was the one warming up.

She frowned. "Are you familiar with the expression 'bite me', Karras?"

"I was with a woman once who was into that sort of thing…"

It was infuriating, and she had to summon her will to stay calm. He wanted her furious; so much the easier for him to break her concentration.

She flipped her grip on her sword, spinning for a backhand slash. When he caught her attack with his sword, she made a quick reverse turn to dig the tip of her sheathe into his gut. She caught him and he grunted, stumbling over a small mound of hard earth. He might have fallen ungracefully if he hadn't been quick enough to turn it into a graceful backward flip. He broadened the distance between them.

Starfire bit back a smile. He hadn't expected her to be so fast.

He blinked to recover himself and chuckled. "You have gained speed, brat, but judging by that strike, you aren't quite hitting with everything you have."

"Fool. Do you wish for me to kill you? Of course I hold back!"

"Don't." He rushed her, sword point dragging into the soil.

Starfire watched for the arc of his sword, knowing she would be quick enough to decide on whether she should block, parry, duck or attack. But earth and dust came at her, getting into her eyes. Her instincts were surprisingly quick to adjust. She depended immediately on her hearing and touch, gauging his position and the fall of his sword. She had learned to fight sightless, and it wasn't something one forgot. She was able to block, once, twice, but it was all too much, too quickly. She hadn't practiced her sightless techniques for quite some time. Something crashed into her diaphragm. It felt like a cannon ball. It was strong enough to knock the breath out of her and send her flying back.

It was bad enough that there was all this pain spreading from her gut, but when the bone crunching force came from behind her, like a tree slamming into her back, she wasn't sure what part of her hurt the most.

She crashed face down on the ground, coughing and sputtering. She hissed, forcing herself off the ground. Her head was still spinning and her body was screaming for her to take a moment to recover, but she felt there was hardly any time to delve on how hurt she was.

What in the world had Karras hit her with? She blinked to clear her vision and analyze his stance. It had to be his knee.

Damn be Kalapattian strength. It was almost as formidable as that of the Tamaranians, and all things considered: her being female, she and Karras were probably equal in muscle.

Whatever it was he had used to hit her with, he had gotten his point across clearly enough. He wasn't holding back; why should she?

Everyone else seemed to think it was better that way. At least the ones who had bet on Karras. She heard screams of approval mingled with shouts of outrage. It was hard to tell who was and wasn't happy about it, but she knew for sure the titans wouldn't be the least bit pleased by her present predicament.

She shook her head to steady her sight and almost gasped at Karras' proximity. He was right on top of her and she had to roll on the ground to duck. His sword plowed right through the tree, sending wood chips spraying in all directions. The buzz of his earlier strike still rang in her ears and she knew she needed more time to recover; more time to steady herself. Lying on the ground, she pleaded X'Hal for clarity.

There was Karras' fist, heading down towards her. She whipped to the side, dodging it and flipping herself on one hand to get her back into a crouching stance.

Starfire tried not to think about the crater-like hole Karras' fist had formed on the ground when his punch connected. If her face had been anywhere near it, he might very well have broken bones. She fought the urge to touch her precious nose, scolding herself for her vanity.

_But X'Hal curse it, I could not help what I feel! Robin likes the way I look so much—_

She hissed. _Focus! You have fought poorly! Do not shame your teachers! Remember… flows like water…_

Karras came at her so fast that he might have been flying. She angled her sword to meet his, and when their steel clashed, she moved with him. Metal rasped against metal as she glided along with the motion of his strike. She was behind him and she could have pressed her blade to his neck to force his submission, but Karras still had his sheathe. He deflected her blade just as smoothly, but his earlier words and actions had struck her too well.

_Don't hold back._

She dropped her sheathe, pressed her hand to his back and released a bolt.

The explosion sent him flying several yards into the air. He crashed to the ground, skidding several feet more on his chest and knees.

Cheering erupted from the audience, punctuated by laughter and an exchange of currency. Surely, there were bets for everything. Who fell first? How many strikes before Karras got his knees soiled? How many moves would it take to fell either one of them?

She used the time Karras took to pick himself up. She still hadn't fully recovered from the knee to tree whammy. The fire in her gut flared still, but at least the stabbing pain had faded.

Karras rose from the ground, sputtering. There was a burn the size of a fist on his back and some of the cloth on the knees of his cassock were torn from the impact of his fall, but Starfire was willing to wager he had carried worse wounds into full battle.

He grinned. "Now we're talking."

He hardly took another second to recover before he attacked like a hurricane.

88888888888888888

His face was wrought with focus, his strikes, slashes and thrusts coming at her with ferocious speed. She barely caught each one with her blocks, so there was absolutely no time to form an attack. His strength and endurance would beat her down if she did not think of a way to break the onslaught.

She caught his sword with hers and heaved him away, making him flip back to set a distance between them, but he didn't waste time trying to find a new opening. With a swift twist of his body, he kicked himself off the ground.

He launched himself into the air and Starfire met him, using muscle instead of flight, for she had promised to abide by gravity. The clash of his sword against hers sent vibrations up her arm, but she rotated her hips and let her shin connect solidly with his side. He grunted from the impact and she saw the pain etch his face for a heartbeat, but amazingly, he took the hit. He took it and grasped her leg firmly with his arm, locking it to his side.

He spun, bringing her with him.

A yelp escaped her throat, his shoulder pressing against hers. The ground impacted like cement. First she was numb then the pain exploded. She gasped for air because her lungs were too stunned to work properly.

The glint of steel at the corner of her eye told her he would have her under submission in the next heartbeat and her instincts screamed.

It won.

The heat from behind her eyes shot out and he caught her bolts right on his chest.

888888888888888888

It was painful to breathe. She could have sworn Karras had broken something. A rib, maybe, and it was probing at her lungs; or something like that. She rasped for air as she struggled to push herself up, trembling. Her eyesight was blurred, but she felt no pain in her head to indicate that she had damaged her eyes. They were whole, and most importantly, they were working.

There was a sound amidst the ringing in her ears. Coughing. It was Karras, groaning several feet away and struggling to get up as well.

Neither of them were ready to admit defeat, but a ceasefire was in order.

She looked up, trying to blink her eyesight back to clarity.

She saw Robin taking two steps towards her, but Galfore held him back. Faintly, she could make out some of Robin's words; something to do with making sure she was alright; or was it "stop the fight"? It was hard to tell.

Starfire turned over on her hands and knees, thinking it would make standing easier, and groaned from the effort. Her joints were wobbly, but she drew strength from the fact that Karras didn't look any better.

"Clever." His voice was raspy.

She wanted to grab something hard and throw it at him. How could he think about talking at a time like this? She refused to respond. She needed to recover as much energy as she could, fast.

He kept talking as they both stumbled to get back up. "I had not expected you to use your eyes at all. I thought they were damaged. Clever of you."

It could be considered a compliment, but she was in no mood for it. She took her sword by its hilt and pierced its blade into the ground, using it to get to her feet. It worked, mostly, and when the feeling in her legs began to return, she was confident she would recover fast enough.

Karras was leaning on his sword too.

Starfire steadied her breathing, orienting herself to the reality of the situation. Karras was good. Karras would have defeated her twice already if it hadn't been for her starbolts. But then he knew that, didn't he? He knew they were equal fighters because of it. He was an excellent sword wielder, she was not, but she could shoot starbolts. The field was even enough; might even be more to her favor, now that the bolts from her eyes were operational, though she could not even stop and be glad about that, relieved as she was that she could use the bolts from her eyes again, because he was right: There was nothing silly about this. At the moment, she understood just how serious he was.

They stood panting for breath and it occurred to Starfire that the enthusiastic shouts of the crowd had died down. There was almost absolute silence, like someone had died.

She looked briefly at the crowd and noticed that the smiles were gone, as well. They were just looking; stunned, no doubt. Whatever Luren told them had faded from their minds at what they saw. This was not a friendly battle between old friends.

Starfire tried not to think about what the soldiers might perceive from the challenge when the whole truth was made known to them. Would the stakes mean as much to them as it did to Galfore? Would they understand why Starfire chose to remain on Earth? They had understood her reasons before, but now, when the power of Tamaran did, in fact, rest in her, would they offer her their understanding a second time?

She turned her gaze at Karras, who was grinning. She frowned. "I will not submit."

He chuckled. _"Now _I believe you."

"You thought I was joking when I told you I would not go back with you to Tamaran?"

He smiled. "I hardly ever take you seriously, princess. Can you blame me?"

"That, prince, is a stupid question."

Karras laughed. Starfire could not fathom what made him think he could waste energy laughing like so.

It was, however, that very laugh which lifted the tension from the audience. Starfire could have sworn she heard a collective breath of relief and conversation in the crowd began to gain vigor once more.

Karras straightened his posture then went into stance. "Let us settle this, then, before your Robin jumps into the fight to finish me off for you."

Starfire arched an eyebrow, righting herself and hefting her sword. "You acknowledge he is better than you, then?"

"He tamed the shrew, didn't he?"

She snarled at the indirect jibe but let it go without comment. She lifted her weapon above her head, sword-point in Karras' direction and charged a bolt in her other hand. "Prepare yourself, prince."

He grinned. "I _am _prepared. Are you?"

With both of them at the ready, Starfire let loose a starbolt, enveloping the clearing in a bright blast of green.

88888888888888

The starbolt exploded at Karras' feet, sending mounds of soil, twigs and leaves spraying around him. Starfire lunged through the flying debris for her attack, closing her eyes to protect it from the dust. Her sightless training kicked in and found that Karras was clumsy without the benefit of his eyes. He flailed out randomly and Starfire struck his blade aside so she could make a proper thrust for his submission, but he was much quicker than she thought. He knew instantly that he was at a disadvantage and he removed himself from beneath the blanket of dust.

Her eyes still shut, she felt him flip above her head into the open air, and calculating his trajectory, she knew she only had one chance, or else he'd have his blade to her throat.

She opened her eyes and unleashed her bolts.

The bolts shot straight towards him and he would have felt the full force of it if he hadn't lifted his sword. Bracing himself, Karras caught the bolt with his blade. The force pushed him back several feet, his feet digging into the soil.

Starfire growled in slight frustration as the air around her cleared. _Damn that sword of his with its strange properties! _

Karras sprung towards her for an attack, swinging his sword in a downward arc. She caught it overhead, the strength of the hit sending her on one knee while she absorbed the painful ripples of it through her arm. She shoved Karras and his sword to her side as she scampered to regain her footing.

She wasted no time in preparing herself. One thing she noticed about Karras was that his follow ups were not punctuated by unnecessary breaks. He would fall on his side and then get back up without batting an eyelash. This time was no different.

He turned, kicked off and twirled his sword for rapid fire strikes.

It took all of Starfire's focus to meet each hit. She ignored the vibrations his sword wrought upon hers. Never mind that her muscles buzzed into numbness; so long as she met his steel, he could not force her to submit.

His movements were fluid, and he moved with self-assured grace. He would spin his sword in his grasp, made it hum, and swung it for a strike. Starfire found it all quite frustrating. He was showing off, yet she could not find an opportunity to attack.

When Karras slapped her sword away and rotated his hips for a spin, she should have seen it coming, but even then he was too swift. He twisted, throwing his upper body into a flat spin as both his legs lifted for a double round house kick.

She caught one foot on left her jaw and the second on the back of her shoulder.

Starfire could have sworn she felt her skull rattle and her shoulder dislocate.

She fell to the ground. She tasted the coppery salt of blood on her tongue while her vision spotted and her left arm went numb from shoulder to wrist. In the back of her mind, she knew that if she made no move to counter his follow-up, or at least block it, she would be defeated that very second.

Forcing herself to make her attack matter in spite of her blurry vision, she saw the haze that was Karras looming over her.

Using what strength she had on her uninjured arm, she planted it firmly on the ground, flung her hips and swung her legs upward for a roundhouse kick of her own. She connected and heard Karras grunt and stumble back.

She did not land with much grace. It was difficult enough to manage the kick in her condition. Her legs flopped to the side, her knees knocking together rather painfully, but she did not care.

Starfire scrambled to get back on her feet as her vision began to clear. She could make out Karras wiping some blood off his nose. Disregarding the gravity of it with an annoyed expression, he spat to the side, some blood oozing from the side of his mouth.

Feeling was beginning to return to her left arm, but she could barely get the hand attached to it to form a hard fist. She could move it, but it had no strength. She readied herself as best she could for the inevitable onslaught.

Karras' deadly dance began again, but this time, he strained her remaining arm with quick transitions. He followed no pattern or flow. He changed hands with expert ease and she blocked desperately, each parry less fluid than the last. Were it not for her steadfast will to prevail, she might have fallen to his skill long before.

He grinned, seeing the monumental effort she was making. It served to anger her and push her even further, though her muscles screamed for a heartbeat of relief.

Karras shifted to get her at the back but she intercepted his steel with her own. She was safe from submission, but he was unable to resist making a strike, however unnecessary it was: She felt the flat of his blade swat her rear and she yelped, stumbling forward and away from him. It felt like a massive wooden paddle flung hard against her flank. Yet she felt more humiliated than anything. Try as she might, she could not resist rubbing her offended bottom. It stung, though the pain was nothing to the other injuries she'd endured. Likely, she would feel the effects of it more distinctly, come the next morning.

There was a loud shout from the spectators; a mingling of laughter and outrage; hisses and boos punctuated by delighted giggles.

She glared at Karras. "Ha-_ha! _Very funny!" she hissed as she went into stance.

Karras chuckled. "It was, wasn't it?"

He attacked again, and Starfire had to wonder if she could take anymore punishment, but to her great astonishment, a glimmer of hope appeared.

She found an opening and almost as if her life depended on it, she swung. He jumped to avoid it, but she was determined to take full advantage of the opportunity she had been given. She let loose a strong bolt to catch him in the air.

The bolt caught him in the gut and he grunted as he tumbled back and over on the ground. He slid back, a rolled up heap of man doubling over in pain.

That loud shouts of approval that rose from the spectators floated past her awareness. She was completely focused on her attack.

She leaped to subdue him, grabbing this one chance to tilt the scales in her favor, but he emerged from his stupor unexpectedly, raising his sword. She yelped, striking downward to slap his sword out of the way of her descent. She succeeded in removing the blades, but it was enough for Karras to get back on his feet and swing his sword towards her neck.

She raised her short sword to block it, gasping when the clash of metal against metal rang in her ear. She jumped back to regain her composure.

He had come so close to subduing her and she could tell it affected her by the quick tempo of her heartbeat.

"Almost had you there, princess. Almost…" he whispered in heady anticipation.

_But not quite, _she told herself. She could not let Karras have the mental edge. If she was going to defeat him; she had to believe she could do it, mind and body. She had a chance to win, still. He had overpowered her in all aspects of the fight, earlier, but in the last ten seconds, she had managed to come back. Her confidence returned.

Starfire charged her eyes for the onslaught and she let loose her bolts in consecutive fire. He rushed forward as she did, seeing him blocking and dodging her firepower. Starfire swung for his jaw, blunt blade-spine towards him in case he was unable to block; so quick was her approach. She would catch him if he did not act fast.

His sword blocked her bolt. It would not be there to catch her steel, but something rammed into her gut, pushing her away and disrupting the flow of her strike as she doubled over from the blow. She fell on one knee.

It was his sheathe. She had forgotten about it, and unless she made a quick counter, he would have his sword poised at her nape.

Ignoring the silver spots blossoming in her vision, she switched the trajectory of her swing.

_Upward! Swing up and then thrust! _

She could see it happening. She would have him in submission if she could only move fast enough. It would be the perfect finish if she could only _move fast enough. _

_Quick! _

But knew she wasn't.

She met his sword and deflected it, but her sword would not be swift enough to switch directions and force his submission.

Almost as if she could see his movements in slow motion, she watched him and knew he would have his blade pressed to her neck. It would be over and she would be defeated.

But he blinked. Perhaps that was his mistake, or maybe it was just dumb luck. It was the precious second she needed to complete her counter strike.

She charged her hand and let loose the bolt. It struck his wrist.

His sword flew out of his grip, flipping into the air as she thrust her sword forward, the point of it stopping just beneath his throat.

Karras froze. Starfire froze.

It was a moment of breathless awe.

888888888888888

Starfire blinked as she stared up at Karras, the tip of her sword poised to thrust into his windpipe. As stubborn as she was, thinking herself better than Karras in more ways than Karras cared to admit, she had, in the last few minutes of her life, realized that she had practically conceded the fight to Karras. Even now, her sword to his throat, she couldn't quite believe she had succeeded.

_He had me, _she thought, dazed. _He had me, and it was through sheer luck that I won this battle. _

There was a loud shout of victory from the crowd and Luren came rushing into the field towards them.

"Princess," said Luren, his face flushed and smiling. "If you would be so kind as to remove your sword from our dear prince's tender throat…"

She did, still gaping.

Luren offered her his hand. She took it and together they hoisted her to her feet.

He raised her arm into the air. "Winner!"

The entire crowd cheered in triumph. Beast Boy and Cyborg cheered with them. Robin just looked relieved. She could not quite make out what Galfore felt about it, though his smile was serene.

The camp rushed them, several members of the unit coming up to pat her in the back and tell her that it had been a most thrilling exhibition. They praised and lauded her, though she was still trying to convince herself that she had gotten past Karras' skill.

"Yo, that was _ill, _girl!" Cyborg's smiling face overpowered everyone else's.

"Beyond ill!" cried Beast Boy, jumping around excitedly. "That was terminal!"

Starfire yelped as Cyborg picked her up by her waist and hoisted her over his shoulder. She found herself elevated, seeing everyone from her vantage point. She sought Robin and found him looking somewhere else.

Amidst the confusion, Robin set his gaze steadily on Karras. The prince stared back with his usual cocky arrogance, saluting Robin as if he hadn't lost at all. It was only then that Robin turned away from him to catch her gaze.

She smiled and shrugged. He returned her smile with a cocked grin, pushing through the crowd to get to her. When he was standing beside Cyborg, she leaned over to hear what Robin had to say.

"Are you alright?" he yelled above the din.

She rolled her eyes. She should have known it would be the first thing he would say. She nodded. "I am! Though I feel somewhat sore…"

"I bet."

She wished Cyborg would take her away so she could nurse her injuries. She wanted nothing more than to howl and complain like a child when Robin tended her hurts.

She was about to ask just that when Karras was suddenly there, offering his arm up to her. He was going to shake her hand like a properly defeated challenger. She knew he was capable of honor, but she had expected he would take at least another few hours to get over it. He had, after all, stressed the importance of the battle's outcome when he proposed the fight.

Starfire blinked, wondering if he expected her to say something catty. But then she caught Galfore's gaze, and she saw that he was waiting for her response. She would not shame her _k'norfka _even at the possibility of the prince's ridicule.

She took Karras' arm.

"You fought well, princess," he said, his grip firming as he spoke. His eyes, usually lit up with condescension, were indecipherable now. She could not read what was behind it; whether he meant to be a sport or whether he had malicious undertones to it. Still, the gesture was all that honor required.

"So did you, prince," she replied. She returned the firmness of his grip before they detached and was separated by the milling throng.

8888888888888888

Raven's touch was always gentle, but none more so when she was healing. The peaceful, scenic view of the Jump City horizon from her seat on the couch helped calm her nerves.

Starfire felt the soothing ripples of healing magic course through the muscles of her back and the marrow of her bones. She felt the cold pain being replaced by comfortable warmth and realized that breathing felt normal again.

It felt even better; the touch of Raven's palms against her skin. She could pretend Raven was being affectionate. She smiled contentedly.

"And you all just stood there, watching it all happen," said Raven without pitch or inflection. She wasn't done with the healing, but the pulse of her powers was steady and all she needed to do was hold it that way for several minutes.

She was addressing Robin, Beast Boy and Cyborg. She did not sound pleased. Though she hardly ever did, she sounded a tad more displeased than usual.

Robin looked terribly annoyed by this comment. "There was nothing we could do. Galfore said that if we interfered, Starfire's acceptance of the challenge would be forfeited and it would count as a win for Karras. We didn't want to lose her that way."

Starfire noted how Robin had said, "We didn't want to _lose her," as opposed to "We_ didn't want _her to lose." _It made sense, the context of his words. The desire to keep her on Earth seemed to be foremost in Robin's mind. If it had been an ordinary pride-fight, Robin would not have let her suffer so much injury. He would have jumped into the fray himself and finished Karras off.

Raven arched an eyebrow. "And Karras? Did he at least suffer as much?"

Starfire hesitated in her reply. She probably hadn't hurt Karras as much, though she was certain she had burned him on several places. That was enough to make him uncomfortable for days.

Beast Boy grinned. "Starfire fried his ass! It was a pretty awesome fight."

"Got me a little worried for a while, though," said Cyborg. "Karras is one bad ass fighter, yo! He had flo'!"

"He wasn't _that_ good," Robin muttered, crossing his arms over his chest.

Starfire wondered if Robin really believed that.

Cyborg chuckled. "Oh, well, Starfire proved she was better, 'ey shorty?"

She realized she was "shorty" and she smiled, shrugging modestly. She felt she didn't have much to brag about, anyway.

Starfire hadn't had the chance to exchange any more words with Karras after they shook hands.

Concerned for her and Karras, Galfore announced that the participants were to take leave of everyone so that they could be treated for their injuries.

The crowd met this announcement with disapproving cries, but they did so in a good-natured manner. They were easy enough to assuage with promises of further interaction as soon as Starfire was better disposed.

When the last of the well-wishers dispersed, Galfore told her to seek relief from Raven.

"Karras will want no one but Taryia to see to him," he said. "So he will be fine here at our sick-bay. But you, my little _bumgorf_ ought to seek treatment from the Lady Raven. I trust her powers could heal you better than we could."

Starfire, however violent her relationship with Karras was, could not help but extend some form of kindness to him. "If Karras feels he needs more treatment… I am sure Raven would be kind enough to offer him relief."

Galfore chuckled. "With the pride that boy has? He would never admit to needing more help. As it is, Taryia would have a difficult time trying to administer to him. Anyway, I will tell him."

That was enough for Starfire. She expressed a hope to see Galfore again soon and her _k'norfka _promised to go to the tower as soon as he finished his business at camp.

Now Starfire sat within the circle of her dearest friends. She could not help but realize that all the aches and pains she suffered now were well worth being with the Titans. How she loved them too dearly to depart from them. Her will to be by their side helped her succeed. Her will prevailed where her strength had begun to fail her.

She flinched a bit when Raven placed fingers on her cheek. She had almost forgotten that half of her face was slightly swollen.

"He didn't knock out any teeth, did he?" Raven asked.

Starfire smiled at that. "He did not."

"You have to credit the guy for treating you like an equal. You'd think a macho soldier-dude like him would be hung up on gender stereotypes."

Starfire rolled her eyes. "He _is _a macho soldier-'dude' hung up on stereotypes. He chose this one time to treat me like an equal and yet he still managed to—to _humiliate me _like a girl!"

"Oh? Like how?" Raven sat back, having done all she could for Starfire's injuries.

Starfire pursed her lips. She refused to repeat it.

Beast Boy laughed and met eyes with Cyborg who laughed just as loudly.

Starfire scowled. "I would rather not go into details. It is embarrassing! Beast Boy, Cyborg, it is not funny! Robin, tell them it is not funny!"

Robin sighed, rolling his eyes. "It's not funny."

The statement only induced more hilarity.

Robin dealt them a fiercer glare and it managed to quiet them down a bit.

Raven arched an eyebrow. "Now it sounds like something I'd like to know."

Cyborg grinned. "Oh, you'll like this one."

Before Cyborg could say anymore, Starfire blurted out that her eye-bolts were operational. The distraction worked.

Raven seemed surprised, but only mildly, as was her wont. "Oh? That's interesting. No side-effects?"

"None that I know of. I suppose I would have to see my doctor for it, but right now, my eyes feel fine."

"I'm surprised you risked using them at all."

"My instinct to survive had more to do with it than my courage to try. It was my only hope of deflecting Karras' strike."

A smile threatened to break out of Raven's lips, though she was able to hold it back. "Well, well. Karras lives up to his reputation: The one person who brings out the worse in you."

Starfire cocked a wry grin. "Yes, everyone but me likes him. I know."

"I don't like him," said Robin.

"Indeed, but you could respect him."

Robin shrugged noncommittally. "We found out a few interesting things from engineering, by the way."

It was just like Robin to move on to the more important things, but Starfire couldn't help but wonder if there was more to his change of subject than he let on.

This got Cyborg and Beast Boy better occupied. They began to rave about the awesome technology; Cyborg excited about the engines and Beast Boy enthusiastic about the transporters.

"It was so Star Trek! If the technician had only been named Scottie…" said Beast Boy.

"That power core was the bomb," said Cyborg. "It could generate enough energy to accelerate the engines to light speed! I thought my batteries were all that until Wyfern explained to me the details of the ship's gestalt. I asked her help to replicate the technology for the T-Ship and Wyfern was really nice about it. She might come over with Galfore later; check the specs of the T-Ship so that we could re-configure—"

Robin cleared his throat.

Cyborg reddened. "Sorry. Got carried away. Anyway… we should get Aqualad on the line. He might be able to fill some gaps in our findings."

Robin nodded. "Raven?"

"I'm on it." She rose from the couch to go to the control panel, contacting Aqualad. A few minutes later, Aqualad's face was up on screen.

"I was just about to call you guys," he said. He took one look at Starfire and he arched an eyebrow. "What happened to _you?"_

Starfire blushed fiercely. She realized she looked like she had been thrown into a gauntlet but she didn't realize she looked bad enough to get noticed. "You do not want to know."

Aqualad took her word for it. "Ookay. Then what's up? Any interesting developments?"

"You tell us," said Robin. "About Puerto Rico and Miami…"

Aqualad grinned. "Yes?"

"I understand the ocean has currents and… undercurrents…"

"Interesting way of putting it, Robin."

"I try."

Starfire's eyebrow arched and she exchanged questioning glances with Raven. Whatever Robin and Aqualad were talking about, she wasn't the only one confused about it; though she was curious to note that Beast Boy and Cyborg were not meeting gazes with her. Perhaps they knew what was going on.

Aqualad chuckled. "What do you want to know?"

Robin cocked a smile. "I was wondering if there's any way you could… record the patterns of these undercurrents. Within the parameters of the said shoreline, you understand."

"There's a third point of reference…"

"I know."

Aqualad gave it a quick thought. "Sure, I've got some equipment for that."

"Great. If you could, consider the following factors: How the water figures into it any atmospheric interference; how the gravitational fields may vary; that sort of thing, and if you could have these readings on paper—"

"Done. I'll have it for you A.S.A.P."

"Perfect. Now… Cy? BB? You take the floor."

Starfire shot Robin a pointed look but he merely smiled. She hoped that meant he would explain everything later.

Cyborg grinned and draped an arm over Beast Boy. "Today's lesson is about stealth, cloaking and beaming. Beast Boy, tell 'em what we talked about."

Beast Boy cleared his throat. "When it comes to stealth, the object of the game is to remain unseen."

Raven cocked an eyebrow. "Geez, you--?"

Starfire nudged her to keep quiet. Grudgingly, Raven did.

If Beast Boy heard her, he made no indication of it. "In the army, soldiers are dressed in the colors predominant in the environment on which the battle takes place. So if the battle ground is a jungle, soldiers are made to wear varying shades of green. To improve on their camouflage, some soldiers even wear the surrounding shrubbery. In a desert environment, soldiers are made to wear varying shades of sand. And so on and so forth. However, _hiding _is only one aspect of stealth. To be of any use, a camouflaged soldier must be able to act and proceed with the mission unseen. Next aspect: One must know what affects that environment, because it will ultimately affect the disguise and the one wearing it. It's akin to throwing a pebble in a pond and the ripple of waves it causes on the surface…"

Before Starfire could stop her, Raven spoke. "Thank you, Kung Fu Master, but if you'll allow this grasshopper to speak… what the heck is your point?"

Beast Boy pouted and Starfire, ever a patron of Beast Boy, shot Raven a disapproving look.

Robin, on the other hand, was more often a Raven patron than a Beast Boy one. "Moving along, people."

"Like I was saying," said Beast Boy haughtily. "Even if a pebble were disguised to look like water, if it's tossed into the pond, you know that the pebble's there anyway because it disturbed the surface when it broke through the water. Am I going too fast for you, Sea Kid?"

Aqualad arched an eyebrow but said nothing.

"Great! So how does the pebble break the surface of the water undetected? It considers the other variants of the pond, like flies walking on its surface, or the fish swimming beneath it, or the leaves drifting along whatever tiny current the pond makes."

"That's a smart pebble," said Raven.

Robin shot her a tired glare. If there was anyone who wanted to hurry it along, it was Robin; Raven let him do the talking. "So what BB is saying is that this pebble, if it wants to break the surface undetected, has to create ripples identical to what the fly, the fish or the leaf makes. Did I get that right?"

Beast Boy smiled and nudged Cyborg. "He gets me! He really gets me!"

Cyborg chuckles. "He gets all of us, BB, that's why he's the leader. I think I'll take over from here, squirt."

"Please do," said Aqualad.

Beast Boy spared him a haughty glance. "Try not to sound so jealous, Water Boy."

"Whatever."

Starfire stifled a giggle. She didn't want to strain Robin's temper any more than it probably already was. Her Boy Wonder may not look ruffled to the others, but she could already detect signs of his impatience through the barely discernible twitch of his jaw.

"Cyborg?" prompted Robin in a calm tone.

Cyborg grinned. "We already decided that it's easier to cloak a space ship in space than within the Earth's atmosphere. A really good cloaking system, like the ones the Tamaranians have in their ship, could keep a craft hidden from detection, in space, for a few hours, give or take two or three variable risks. It's only logical that the smaller the ship is, the easier it is to cloak. So, given those facts, let's say there is, indeed, a ship in space that is big enough to accommodate a one-man space pod and maybe half a dozen crew members. And that this ship has an unbelievably awesome cloaking system that could render it undetectable, whether it stays still or moves around. The only problem we have now is the space pod. We know that the space pod, or this _craft, _enters the Earth. We know it runs underwater. We even know its path… we just don't know where it goes after that, right?"

At this, all eyes turned to Aqualad.

Aqualad grinned. "Well… I have an idea where it goes. So does Robin, but… I'd rather not say until I have hard facts."

Cyborg chuckled. "Oh, I think Beast Boy and I know where you're going with this."

Starfire was surprised; so was Raven. For Raven, it was probably because Beast Boy apparently knew more than she did.

Cyborg continued. "I looked over the Tamaranian transport—also known as 'beaming'—systems and I found out that a ship its size is capable of making transports between two remote points. This means the ship could transport me from here, the tower, to one of the escort ships."

Starfire nodded. That sounded about right. Though she knew a bit about it, engineering was not one of her strengths. She could not have told Cyborg all this information simply because she didn't know what was important and what wasn't. Besides, she was sure Cyborg now knew more about it than she ever did, technical aspects and all.

"Could the ship transport you—say—from here to the Jump City Mall?" asked Raven.

"Good question, Raven. No, the ship couldn't do that, simply because the ship requires at least one remote point to be networked into the main ship's transport systems."

"How remote could remote be from the main ship?"

"According to Wyfern, the main ship couldn't be that far away, but it could be far away enough from satellite radar."

"Far enough away to avoid detection from the Watchtower," Robin supplemented.

Raven nodded. "Makes sense. That takes care of the main ship and one remote point. But what about the second remote point; the craft networked into the main ship's transport systems?"

"This is where it gets hot and where Beast Boy's lecture might come in. Transports executed in space barely leave a trace. The only way for a ship to know that another ship did an inter-space transport is if the observing ship targets its sensors to the transporting ship. So if—say—Blackfire's ship secretly makes a transport between two of her smaller crafts while both ships are in space, Galfore's ship won't be able to detect it, simply because they didn't know they had to aim their sensors at Blackfire's ship. On the other hand, a transport from Earth to space _does _leave a significant enough trace to be detected by any sensor on Earth. Seismographs, barometers, thermometers, weather balloons, _weather satellites… _transport beams could affect readings in these instruments significantly enough for scientists to notice, and that's only with the ordinary equipment. You have to remember that _we _have our equipment configured to pick out readings like that; the Watchtower probably has equipment like ours… on steroids even."

Starfire wasn't certain about the 'steroids' comment, but she was sure it didn't mean the Watchtower's equipment was on drugs… or was it? Anyway, that was beside the point. She had more important things to share. "So combining your observations with Beast Boy's discussion… the transports done within the Earth's atmosphere were somehow masked so they would go undetected. They made it so that the readings their transport would emit would look like regular, non-extraordinary occurrences on the Earth's atmosphere."

Cyborg looked very pleased that she and Raven showed comprehension. "Yes! Exactly!"

Starfire frowned. "But that is impossible. I do not know much about the technical aspects of transporting, but the amount of energy used to transport, especially between two remote points, is enough to cause a rather loud 'racket' on any enclosed environment, and Earth's environment is _quite _enclosed." Of course, by 'racket', Starfire did not mean actual sound. Transporters were silent enough, but they emitted enormous amounts of energy that sensitive equipment within a closed environment like Earth could catch and record. Equipment would have registered noticeable readings.

Cyborg grinned. "Beast Boy?"

Raven's eye twitched, but she said nothing.

Beast Boy cleared his throat again. "Some believe that on the surface of the Earth, there are blind spots, where gravity and terrestrial magnetism are weaker for some unknown reason. Scientific observation attests that most oceanic disappearances occur approximately within the same area as seismic disturbances are most prone to happen. In other words, there are, in reality, places on this Earth that scientists are yet incapable of making proper observation because the usual rules of physics hardly apply."

Starfire's eyebrow arched. "Are you meaning to tell me that there are parts in this world that simply disappear from radars and all the world's instruments of detection?"

Cyborg shook his head. "Oh, the radars and instruments detect them alright, it's just that the readings they put out are so _consistently _inconsistent and unexplainable that as long as there are no reported disappearances of ships and airplanes, they write the readings off as terrestrial burps."

"Terrestrial burps?"

"Quirks on the Earth's surface; pulses that interfere with normal data readings from within the perimeter of the 'blind spot' and sometimes, even along the areas surrounding it."

Aqualad gave a triumphant laugh. "And no spot on Earth seems to be blinder than—"

"The Bermuda Triangle," said everyone in unison; everyone, except Starfire.

She pouted. "How come I do not know this?"

Robin patted her shoulder. "The Bermuda Triangle is more of a legend than scientific fact. You have to have spent most of your life on Earth to have at least some general knowledge of it."

Aqualad grinned. "Well, now I feel useless. That was the information I was confirming. Now I have nothing to report."

Robin shook his head. "Don't feel useless. Raven told us that you were snooping around Puerto Rico and Miami before we boarded the Tamaranian ship to make our observations. It was that little tidbit that got me thinking in the right direction. I suspected that you had a third point of reference, and it was probably Bermuda, just that you didn't want to tell Raven, because telling her you were checking out the Bermuda Triangle was embarrassing."

Aqualad shrugged. "You got that right. I mean, I'm not buying into the idea that the Bermuda Triangle is some kind of extra-dimensional portal, but it's entirely possible that there are certain areas in it where the terrestrial magnetic fields are highly irregular."

"I'm willing to give that possibility a look-see, too, which is why I told Cyborg and Beast Boy about it. You have to understand that we've exhausted all scientific avenues. I figured it was about time we went in another direction."

Raven shook her head in disbelief. "The paranormal direction?"

"No, the Beast Boy direction. Besides, there are enough documented observations about the area that suggests strange, varying levels of magnetism. Maybe it's not as paranormal as we thought."

Starfire remembered Robin engaging Beast Boy in serious conversation on several occasions since they came back from Gotham. She chuckled. "I am most impressed by your intuition, Robin."

Raven arched an eyebrow. "Everything about Robin impresses you."

Starfire nudged her. "Oh, hush. What I meant to say was Robin hardly takes Beast Boy seriously but when he did, it counted."

Beast Boy rolled his eyes, quirking a grin. "The one time I knew more than others and still the Boy Wonder gets all the credit."

She gave Beast Boy an affection pinch on the cheek. "You know what I mean."

Robin smirked. "Couldn't have done it without everyone else. Anyway, Aqualad, I'll still be waiting for that data I asked from you. Probable or not, I'm not about to let the Bermuda Traingle convince me of its weird powers without proof. I want to be sure we're following a real lead and not some crazy old legend. If your data checks out with ours, we'll be ready to form a plan."

"Gotcha," said Aqualad. "I'll report back as quickly as I could."

"Counting on it."

"Aqualad out."

Aqualad's face disappeared from the monitor.

Starfire smiled. "That was an enlightening discussion."

"The only problem I see now," said Raven, "is how are we going to find a craft in space that we couldn't detect?"

"That—I think—is manageable," said Starfire, to everyone's surprise.

She saw Robin exchanging astonished looks with the others.

"We haven't thought that far into the plan," said Robin.

Starfire shrugged. "Were you not listening to Beast Boy's lecture? It goes well with the Tamaranian practice of Smoke and Mirrors."

A glimmer of realization flickered in Robin's eyes. "Magicians hide and do things in plain sight, making you think that you saw something disappear right before your eyes. Camouflage…"

She nodded. "I am willing to wager that it is not that they are completely invisible, but that they are using something; an illusion if you would like to call it, to render their spaceship _unnoticeable."_

"But not unseen," said Robin. "Starfire, you're a genius. Cyborg, coordinate with the Watchtower. See if you could find anything in space that may be used as a kind of camouflage: Unusual meteor activity, floating debris, nebular clouds… anything that might give us an approximate location where we could target our sensors."

"I'm on it."

"In the meantime, I have a question I'd like the rest of you to answer."

Starfire looked at Robin quizzically. Raven and Beast Boy did likewise.

Robin continued. "Why do you think Maxwell Victoria's still sitting pretty in his Jump City detention cell?"

Raven cocked a smile. "Because he's too far off the coast of Bludhaven. They couldn't risk exposing themselves staying too long on Earth going from coast to coast. At least, not immediately."

"Right. Jump City is West Coast. Gotham and Bludhaven East Coast. If they attempt to snatch Victoria here, they'd make themselves vulnerable for way too long. If we want to compel them to make a move, we're going to have to set up our bait where they could reach him."

"We will send Victoria back to Bludhaven?" asked Starfire.

Robin chuckled. "Not exactly. We'll wait for the data Aqualad and Cyborg have for us before we come up with any concrete plans. With Victoria here, I think we've bought ourselves a lot of time."

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_His sword blocked her bolt. It would not be there to catch her steel, but something rammed into her gut, pushing her away and disrupting the flow of her strike as she doubled over from the blow. She fell on one knee. _

_It was his sheathe. She had forgotten about it, and unless she made a quick counter, he would have his sword poised at her nape._

_Ignoring the silver spots blossoming in her vision, she switched the trajectory of her swing. _

Upward! Swing up and then thrust!

_She could see it happening. She would have him in submission if she could only move fast enough. It would be the perfect finish if she could only move _fast enough.

_Quick! _

_But knew she wasn't._

_She met his sword and deflected it, but her sword would not be swift enough to switch directions and force his submission. _

_Almost as if she could see his movements in slow motion, she watched him and knew he would have his blade pressed to her neck. It would be over and she would be defeated._

_But he blinked. Perhaps that was his mistake, or maybe it was just dumb luck. It was the precious second she needed to complete her counter strike…_

Starfire jerked awake and pushed her face off her work panel. Her muscles shrieked in response and she hissed in pain.

"Star?" It was Beast Boy, sharing the shift with her from his own work station.

She blinked back sleep and pain. "G-Goodness, I fell asleep… I…" She felt disoriented, her thoughts in a jumble.

The room was dim and silent except for the blinking controls and Beast Boy's reassuring presence. They were the only two people in the information center.

"You should've listened to Robin and Galfore," said Beast Boy. "You need to relax if you want to recover."

"B-But my shift…"

Beast Boy chuckled. "I've been covering for you in the last half-hour. It's no big deal. Things are always quiet at this time."

"I am sorry…"

"Shees, Star. No need to apologize. Get some rest. Even if you won that fight with Karras, it doesn't mean he didn't beat you to a pulp."

His mention of Karras made Starfire recall her dream. Her thoughts drifted to the memory of the pensive look on Robin's face whenever Karras was mentioned.

_Blinked… _she thought. _Dumb luck… precious second she needed…_

The haze of sleep cleared from her senses, astonishing herself with a realization so great; so improbable, yet probable…

"Karras," she said. "I must speak to Karras."

Beast Boy looked at her like she had gone crazy. "You shouldn't be fighting again so soon."

Starfire shot him a mild frown. "I am not looking to fight. Just to talk. What time is it?"

"Early. Eleven thirty. I know Cy's still awake down at the garage with Wyfern. Galfore said he'd be in his room if you need him. Raven's meditating, I think, and Robin sort of took off… I don't know where, but you could contact him on his T-Comm."

This distracted Starfire momentarily. "Took off? Like—"

"Yeah, he's in one of those moods. Like he wants to be alone."

_Not good, _thought Starfire grimly. However, her Boy Wonder would have to wait. She had more pressing matters to attend to at the moment.

"Beast Boy, are you sure you could handle this shift alone?"

"Positive. You need sleep, so go get it."

"Thank you, Beast Boy. You are always 'the pal', but I am afraid I will not be using this time for sleeping. There are important matters that need clearing up. Should anyone look for me, I will have my T-Comm, so do feel free to contact me. But if Robin calls… " _which__ I doubt _"… please tell him I will be looking for him soon."

Beast Boy sighed. "I don't suppose you're going to tell me what this is about?"

"Not at present, no," she said with an apologetic smile. "But rest assured it is not something you… should be worried about. There is no danger, just—as you would say—_stuff."_

"And of course, 'stuff' is always important."

"Always."

"Fine. I got your back, Star. Call me if you need anything."

Starfire smiled, giving Beast Boy a quick hug. "Thank you, again."

He blushed. "Yeah, yeah."

Starfire took off, making her way out of the tower.

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She could make out a fire at the center of the Tamaranian camp site. The smoke rising in the air wasn't alarmingly thick and she could detect a bit of fragrance, like food cooking over a spit.

The camp was like a shimmer of light amidst the darkness of the forest, an enticing sight to a weary traveler, or one who craved life, like she did.

Though the Tamaranian ship overhead loomed with small, blinking lights, its presence was ominous; not the least bit comforting. She needed the campfire's liveliness; the way the shadows danced around it.

In spite of the loud laughter and cheerful sounds, Starfire saw that there weren't that many people out. There were about a dozen unit members left around the campfire. The others, Starfire assumed, had retired for the night.

What was important was that Karras was still awake, sitting in the circle beside Taryia and Luren, his face as animated as the rest of them. They seemed to be drinking, and Starfire wondered if this was a good time to be discussing serious matters with Karras.

She swooped down into the shadow of trees as quietly as she could, hoping not to disrupt their revelry too much. With her feet on the ground, she walked through the growth noisily, so that she wouldn't startle them into attacking her.

When she emerged in the clearing, all eyes were turned to her, but the tension in everyone's shoulders eased when they realized who it was.

They hailed their welcome of her somewhat drunkenly but Luren took a more active approach. It was nice to hear the old language being spoken by so many.

"Princess!" he said, rising from his seat and hurrying towards her. "So nice of you to grace us with your presence again, so soon! You're looking better than I expected."

She laughed. "I suppose you could say that."

"Much better than Karras, at least."

Karras sneered as shouts of laughter erupted all around.

"Come, your highness," said Taryia. "There is always a place for you around this fire. Sit by me and I will protect you from these hooligans."

Taryia was booed good-naturedly.

Starfire, not wishing to be impolite, nodded and sat herself down. She gave Karras a glance and saw that while he didn't look worse, he didn't look any better than she did. The sight of him kept her priorities in focus. "I will be glad to join you for one drink, friends, but I must attend to the purpose of my visit after that."

Mention of official business earned her a booing. She laughed as a cup of wine was shoved into her hand.

She gave them a good hour, trading laughter and cheer. Karras barely addressed her, but they were both gracious enough to raise their cups together and unhesitatingly whenever the discussion required it.

When Starfire had finished her cup, she met eyes with Karras and she gestured towards a more private part of the clearing.

He seemed to have understood and he made excuses for the both of them. "Her Highness has something important to discuss with me."

There were complaints, as was only polite of everyone, but they let Karras and Starfire go easily enough. They were soldiers, after all, and they knew when they had to let their superiors talk.

When Starfire and Karras were far enough away from the fire, Luren shouted out a last crack. "No funny business with the princess, Karras! Or you'll get it from me!"

The campfire group laughed and finally left them alone.

"How are you feeling, Koriand'r?" asked Karras with a sneer.

She glared. "Fine, no thanks to you."

He chuckled.

The good mood the others put her in disappeared in a snap. "Do not be laughing at me, Karras. Why did you do it?"

His smile remained. "Do what, princess? Hit you? I was merely defending myself."

"Do not play games with me. You know what I mean. You _lost!"_

"Well, you were obviously the better fighter."

"I am not stupid. Why did you lose that fight deliberately?"

"Deliberately, eh? That is a new concept to me. Losing a fight to you deliberately."

"Even Robin saw it. I have not talked about it with him, but I could tell he knows. This once, Karras, have a civil conversation with me. Why, Karras? Why lose to me on purpose?"

He took his time in answering, but it seemed that for once, it had little to do with irritating her and more to do with choosing his words well. "Because I know you to be stubborn, Koriand'r, and there is no forcing you to do what you do not want to do. And you know me… I never take women by force."

She reddened at the implications of his words. "Are you—are you trying to _seduce _me, Karras? Do you even know what Robin will do to you if—"

He seemed irritated. "Ugh! Settle down, brat. I have no intention of seducing you. The very thought of it upsets me."

"Hey!"

"It was an expression," he said, undistracted by her protests. "I only use force with my enemies, Koriand'r. You are not an enemy. You are an ally. I even dare to think that we might be more alike than either of us would like to admit."

Starfire said nothing; listening.

"I do not want to force you to go back to Tamaran. Though I admit, I only realized that when I felt the full-force of your starbolts on my chest." He smiled bitterly. "After that, the challenge ceased to be about getting you back to Tamaran."

"Then—"

"You know that I do not like to lose. I especially do not like losing to you. I hate it. Since our battle this afternoon, Luren and the others have done nothing but remind me how much better you were than I was. What was that choice jibe of theirs? Ah, 'Princess Whipped', they called me. I swear on my mother's virtue that it sounds worse to me than—what is that nickname you gave me? Oh yes… 'Gelroid Get'. So you see, if you hadn't come to the campfire this evening, I would have regretted it completely, losing to you, because it would have meant that it was all for naught."

Arrogant pride: It was a definitive trait of Karras. She had always known this; always thought it would eventually be his downfall. To give up his pride for her to realize… what? What was he trying to make her realize?

"Why, Karras? You had me. I would have lost that fight this afternoon. I _saw _it. I knew it. And you would have spared yourself the humiliation; and maybe I would have gone back to Tamaran, because those were the terms of the challenge."

He cocked a smile. "Humiliation… yes. I could have won that fight and in a million years, I would not have let you forget it. I would remind you of it to my dying day and I would enjoy every second of my gloating. And indeed, wouldn't it have been a notch on my belt? I could have been the man who got the absentee princess to return to Tamaran. I could have had all of that, and I would have enjoyed it, proud fool that I am."

"But you gave it up, losing to me."

"Indeed I did. I gave it up. I did not want to, but I did. To force you back to Tamaran would be wrong. Galfore already knew this. I needed to get 'princess whipped' to understand. Now it's your turn to understand, by example."

"Make me understand what, Karras?"

"That it is not always about what you want, princess. Sometimes, it's about what you have to do."

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It wasn't all that difficult to find Robin. Flying gave her that advantage. She could sweep over the skyscrapers of Jump City and spot Robin on one of the rooftops, brooding by himself as he watch the city moving beneath him.

She could have contacted him on his T-Comm, of course, but now, she preferred to catch him unguarded.

Starfire found Robin sitting precariously on the corner stone gargoyle on one of his foster father's buildings. It was almost always the case with him, anyway. A hundred buildings in the metropolis and he would pick a Wayne Enterprises one. Perhaps the familiarity of it was what he sought: The dark stone; the fearsome creatures perched on the ledges. It was telling enough of where he got this habit of his.

Dark though it was, she detected the tension in his shoulders as she approached, and then he relaxed. Without turning to look at her, Starfire knew he was aware of her presence.

She daintily set herself down on the ledge, beside him. The gargoyle elevated him and she had to look up.

His gaze remained focused to the expanse of the city. He straddled the stone creature's back easily, elbows on his lap. His cape swished slightly behind him.

Her first words were an apology. "I am sorry for disturbing you like this. I know you wanted to be alone."

He tilted his gaze to her a bit before returning it to the buildings and streets. "I don't mind your company."

Silence fell over them.

She wasn't sure why she sought him. She just thought she wanted him near. She hadn't thought as far as what she should talk about with him.

"You feeling alright?" he asked.

It was better than nothing. "Of course, Robin. Karras may have been rough, but he did not hurt me any more than was necessary. Besides, Tamaranians heal from such injuries quicker than most."

For a while, he made no response. Moments later he blew a short breath, grinning slightly. "If I tell you something about that fight—"

"I know. Karras threw it. He lost to me deliberately."

Robin fell silent, confirming her suspicions that it was what he was going to say.

They shared an even longer moment of quiet.

After the silence stretched, she sidled up to him. "I spoke to him about—"

He swallowed, looking even farther away from her. "I don't want to hear about it."

She was surprised, and she couldn't help but feel a slight stab of hurt. She was used to him deferring from telling her how he felt, but she was not used to him telling her to "shut up". It was what he meant, after all, with what he just said.

A kinder way of putting it, maybe, but that was what it meant nonetheless.

He realized what his words did to her because he began to apologize. "Sorry. I'm just being weird."

It didn't mean anything, "being weird", at least not with Robin. Everything he did had a reason.

She began to feel that intruding on him had been a mistake. "It is my fault. You wanted to be alone and I barged in on your private time. I will go…" She began to rise from her seat, hurt and upset, when she felt his gentle grip on her arm, keeping her from flying away.

He sighed. "Don't go. Don't—" he sighed again, punctuating it with a weary grin. "Get over here," he said gently, guiding her to share the gargoyle seat with him.

She resisted only a little, won over immediately by his gently insistent tugs. She sat sideways so she could look at him. Already, the sting of his earlier rebuff was wearing away and she was willing to compromise. His arms were around her, as if to keep her from falling, and his hold was reassuring. "I will be quiet, then."

"I didn't mean to shut you out." With his mask on, it was difficult to read the look in his eyes. She would have to rely on what he had to say. "But whatever Karras told you… I just know I couldn't deal with it right now. Whatever it is."

She placed her hand upon his cheek. "How do you know? It could be nothing."

He shook his head. "Everything your people have said, from the moment they arrived, has been something I've had to deal with. Right now I just… I just want to sit here with you."

She didn't completely understand, but it was clear enough that talking about what she spoke of with Karras was out of the question. She could bear to stay quiet about it, especially being so comfortable in Robin's embrace, and he seldom asked anything from her. It was easy to give in, just this once.

She sealed the agreement with a kiss, keeping them occupied for the next few minutes.

They exchanged whispered intimacies before they settled in each other's embrace, looking out to the dark city.

She remembered that morning; how they had started the day.

_Just like this, but not quite. It was brighter; now it is dark. It was lighter; now… it is not. _

To one side of the view, farther out in the bay, Starfire could see the T-Tower. It made her smile. To the other side, towards the forest, loomed the ship that brought Tamaran to her.

The Titans were all that she wanted, that she knew. She was yet to decide if "Tamaran" was what she had to do.

_To be continued…_

_

* * *

_

Author's notes: Thank you, readers, for having the patience. Robin's perch on the ledge was an image inspired by the artist, Turin the Forsaken, from Deviant Art. Check out the picture in my comments, the link of which I will provide in my bios.

There's also a discussion there about the Bermuda Triangle. Hopefully, you find it enlightening.


	13. Walls and Bridges

Author's Note: Okay! Back from releasing three chapters of "The Mighty Titan". Lol. Don't be mad at me, please. I couldn't ignore the bug even if I wanted to. That other story needed writing, fast. But this one deserves attention, again, ne? Here we go.

There won't be much action here, but lots of emotion. Heart to hearts; stuff like that.

Standard disclaimers apply.

**PATH TO TAMARAN**

**Chapter Thirteen – Walls and Bridges**

Starfire dared not bother Robin while he worked.

The previous night, after returning from the city, Robin told her he had things to do. She let him go with a light kiss goodnight, keeping her concerns to herself. It was usual enough for Robin to work late, but it worried her whenever he immersed himself in his work so he could forget the personal issues in his life. Nevertheless, she gave him space, even if her heart was screaming for him to talk about it.

As a new morning dawned, Starfire passed Robin's closed chamber door, willing herself to keep walking. When Robin was ready to speak to her, he would open the subject up himself. Not that it was ever that easy.

She went to the Multi-purpose level, thinking she could fix everyone a hearty breakfast. Surely, there was a lot to be done that day. Aqualad's reports should be coming in and she was sure his reports would contain confirmation about the previous day's theories. It was only logical that Robin would start formulating a plan that would have them moving forward on the Blackfire case.

As she emerged from the elevators, she was halted momentarily by the sight of Karras leaning over the kitchen counter. He was drinking another can of Pepsi. He had, after all, taken a liking to it.

He would have come from camp, she knew, and she was mildly surprised he had come to the tower by himself.

He was staring into space, barely noticing that someone else was in the room with him, but moments later, he snapped out of his haze and arched his eyebrow in her direction.

Realizing that he had noticed her, Starfire went on ahead to the kitchen to put breakfast together.

Karras turned away from her, leaning his back and elbows on the counter top. It was just as well. She didn't like him watching as she worked. After a moment, he went to the ledge of the panoramic windows, looking out to the horizon.

Starfire began breakfast by taking out the frozen sausages and bacon then she brewed the coffee. While the coffee brewed, she put together the homemade waffles. She whipped the batter into as light a consistency as she could manage by muscle alone then put a frying pan on the stove to heat. She set the whipped batter aside and began to make eggs. She would need to make a lot of them since Cyborg alone could eat six eggs by himself. When she cooked all the eggs they had (about two dozen of them), she heated the gridiron for the waffles. She dumped the slightly thawed sausages into the frying pan and leaned back for a break in her work.

"You done?" came Karras' voice.

She was surprised he even acknowledged her. She became a bit wary. What delights did conversation with Karras promise this time? "No. Just half-way done. The coffee, however, is ready. You may have some, if you wish."

"I have had soda. I am fine."

Starfire shrugged.

"Do you need help preparing all that?" he asked.

For a moment, Starfire thought she was hearing things. Did Karras just offer to help her make breakfast? She thought she did, but the words were irreconcilable with her general perception of him.

Numbly, she shook her head.

He arched an eyebrow, perhaps seeing the look on her face. "I won't bite, you know."

She said nothing.

He sighed, resigned to her mistrust. "Forget it, then. Honestly, you could be such a _nootflork_head sometimes."

She frowned at the criticism. A _nootflork_was a slimy, amphibious lizard that crawled in the mud and had an irrational fear of everything. When it was frightened, it burrowed itself in the slush and then made its escape underground. Many Tamaranians went their entire lives never seeing one, and some profess that the _nootflork_was a figment of someone's imagination. But they did, indeed, exist, whether or not people believed they did. Thus to call someone _nootflork__-_headmeant that the person did, indeed have a brain; just that it was rarely seen and that one may render its existence debatable.

"Well—you… you…" She was going to say something disparaging, of course, but then it dawned on her that he only offered to help her in the first place. "You can help me make the bacon!" she yelled. She didn't know why she had to shout it. Perhaps having a decent conversation with him had required more effort than she ever thought she had to exert.

Karras blinked in surprise, peering at her warily. "Well, that certainly sounds exciting if you put it that way."

She reddened, turning to the stove to rattle the sausages in their pan. "That is the bacon. It is a bit frozen, but if you put it in the frying pan with a bit of water to simmer in, the pieces will separate and cook nicely."

Karras was soon beside her, carefully trying to make out her instructions. He fared well enough, focusing all his efforts in his work and muttering every once in a while that cooking was never one of his strong points.

Starfire paid him little heed. The sausages cooked quickly enough and she was soon making the waffles. She was well into making her third waffle when Karras spoke again.

"You do this often? Make morning meals for your… _unit?"_

"As often as I could," she muttered.

"It is your unit assignment?"

She laughed, somewhat derisively. "Goodness, no. No one assigned me to do this. I do this voluntarily because I like it when my friends enjoy what I have prepared for them. I love them all very dearly, so I do this for them."

"Robin, especially?"

She nodded without hesitation. "Robin, especially."

Karras took the spatula Starfire had used for the sausages and moved the bacon around with it. "That is nice, I suppose; your caring for them all. I never thought you were so capable of taking care of anyone."

Starfire tried not to be so offended by his words. "There is a lot you do not know about me, Karras."

He shrugged. "Maybe. So, Koriand'r… there is the matter of my end of the bargain in yesterday's challenge. I could send a message to Tamaran immediately, or perhaps to my home planet. It will not be easy getting your parents to come here, so I might need some help from my father—"

Starfire almost dropped her cooking materials from shock. She whipped around to face him, shocked. "What?"

"Our bargain yesterday. Did we not agree that if you won, I would endeavor to get your parents here instead of have you come to Tamaran?"

"But—but—"

"What are you stuttering about? I merely wish to fulfill my end of the bargain."

Starfire frowned, her senses going into overdrive. "But I did not even—you threw the fight—" She scrambled for words. "N-No! You will do no such thing! You will—"

He sighed. "I, me! You are vexing in the extreme." He was not pretending to be annoyed, but he did not look as annoyed as he probably should have been. "I do not know how Robin puts up with your whims."

She blocked his aggravating comments out of her mind, trying to focus her thoughts on the real issue at hand. "If you have never listened to me at all, Karras, I beg you to listen to me now. There is a lot about Tamaran that I have endeavored to leave behind; one of them is my royalty, another is family, but my culture, what I am… it is not something I could completely wipe clean. It is one thing for my parents to come here to surprise me. That would be a voluntary act in their part! It is another for them to come here on my behest. I may have left Tamaran because of what my father did, but he is—" She sighed, poking the waffle batter idly with the egg-whip. "He is still the Grand Ruler. He is my father. He is—"

Karras chuckled. "Not someone the crown princess should order around."

She nodded. "I would never ask so much from him; to have him come here to Earth just because I refuse to go to Tamaran. Crown princess, though I am, I still see him as someone above me. I still see him as my father. A transmitted message will suffice, really. Maybe… maybe if he asks me himself to go back, in his transmitted image, or even just by voice, and if he tells me he misses me, or that mother just wants to see me, or—" She reddened, for once embarrassed by the importance she put on sentiment. "Or something that does not have to do with affairs of the state."

There was a silence between them, and when Starfire looked up, she saw Karras' eyebrow raised, his smile tilted. He was vastly amused. She shot him a scowl, but she refused to take what she said back.

He crossed his arms over his chest. "Is this what it's all about? Your father's apology?"

It sounded so petty, coming from him, but she refused to let him belittle her feelings. "I sacrificed years of my life, my _dignity,_ making my father understand how wrong I thought his political decisions were, and until now, I do not know if I have managed to teach him. The least he could do is show me that he regards me and his other children as something more than a planetary commodity. And you know what? Why would I want to go back to a planet where my own father sees me as currency, when here on Earth, there are people who love me and cherish me as a person? The soldiers tell me that they want me as their leader, and as flattering as that is, and with all due respect to the men and women who have pledged their loyalty to me, I see it as a preference more than a necessity on their part. They _have _a leader. They have my father, and then they have my brother. They are good leaders. Tamaran prospers under their rule, however questionable my father's past decisions were when it came to his children, but even in that, he acted in the interest of the planet. The planet should have no quarrel with him. Whatever mistakes he made, the issue is between him and me, alone. So yes, perhaps I place importance on sentiment, but that is only because it _is _important, and that I think it has been too often, too much, disregarded."

He turned his gaze from her, expelling a soft breath. He looked a little exasperated, but his earlier amusement was gone. She dared to think he understood, to some degree. "I think getting your father to send you such a 'heartfelt' message is even harder than getting him here in the first place."

She sighed, going back to making waffles. "That is regrettable."

"I suppose—" He hesitated, fidgeting uneasily for a moment before he took a deep breath and started over. "I suppose I could not possibly understand the sacrifices you had to make, being a slave. This is my flaw. I was spared from slavery because my elder sister took the responsibility of it. Did you know I had a sister?"

Starfire felt the jolt of remembrance render her nauseous. For a heartbeat, she could not reply, but swallowing the lump in her throat, she managed. "Y-Yes. I know."

He did not seem to find anything amiss about her admission because he continued. "Xyannis… she would have made a magnificent ruler. I remember looking up to her and thinking that she would become the most amazing and passionate leader Kalapatt could have. I admired her so much, and she took care of me as an elder sister should. I was very sad that day they sent her off. She shouldn't have been sent to Gordane."

Starfire said nothing. She couldn't possibly look him in the eye right now.

"My father certainly didn't want her to go, but he had no choice. Believe it or not, my father showed more sentiment about sending her off than an objective ruler was supposed to feel. And," he said, his tone taking on a brighter note, "I believe he had dire hopes for the planet if it fell under my rule. I was too busy taking advantage of the women in court to seem like I could amount to anything at the time, so you could imagine how hopeless my father must have felt."

Starfire took on this leg of the topic with vigor. "You are _such _a cad, Karras. Honestly, have you ever given any woman the importance she deserves?"

He chuckled. "Well, how important do you think I should treat them, considering most of them threw themselves at me so willingly?"

She rolled her eyes, tossing him a look of disgust. "Somehow, it does not surprise me that instead of acting the gentleman, you just blamed their virtue for your lack of self-restraint."

"Correction, I blame _their__lack_ of virtue for my lack of self-restraint."

She sneered. "And Taryia? I hope, at least, that you gave her the respect due her, for I do not think that she threw herself at you in the least. I do not see her throwing herself at anybody, except if it is to throw a punch." She hoped to surprise him with her knowing about him and Taryia; throw him off-guard.

But it wasn't to be. He was more resilient than she gave him credit for.

He laughed, and for the first time, it did not sound wrought with ridicule. He stirred the bacon around, as if to think carefully of his words. "Taryia… no, she did not throw herself at me. And yes, I do humbly submit that my respect for her remains strong to this day. I care for her still, and I think she still cares for me."

Starfire looked cautiously over her shoulder at him, wondering who he was and what he had done to Karras. He caught her looking and he shot her a grin.

"What are you looking at me like that for?"

She remained suspicious of him. "I am… surprised; that you would admit such a thing; to me, of all people."

He did not seem embarrassed at all. "Are you surprised I admitted it or are you surprised that I could have such feelings?"

"Both, I suppose."

He shrugged. "It happens; that a cad such as myself would feel so deeply for someone."

Trying to brush off her sense of disbelief, Starfire forced herself to act normally. "So you and Taryia are still together?"

"Together? No. Not for a… let us see… for an Earth year, now."

"But if you still care for one another—"

He waved her protests away. "We agreed it was for the best. I am a prince, she is a soldier. We would never be matched in marriage, and unlike you Tamaranian royalty, we cannot keep _s'lors_. I do not want Taryia to be treated like a concubine when I am married to someone else and I do not think Taryia wants that either. Besides, she suspects I will go back to my womanizing ways in due time, whether we are together or not."

Starfire's lip curled at that, shaking her head. "You would cheat on Taryia?"

He shrugged. "Given time? I cannot be certain. I have never felt so strongly for a woman before, so I have not quite tested the limits of my fidelity. But whether I remained faithful or not, I'd still love her, you understand. Women… they are one of the most beautiful of Gods' gifts. I do like them so very much. The pretty ones, I mean. I do not know if I could like an ugly woman."

"Ugh, you are such a hole in the behind._"_

He laughed again, this time the ridicule was back. He took the pan of bacon and moved the bacon around in it. "Is this cooked, princess? It looks a bit pale if you ask me…" He tilted the pan, as if to put it to the light.

Starfire looked at the bacon in his pan and saw that the water had evaporated. The bacon was only just beginning to cook on its own oil. The oil oozed to the side and threatened to spill. Starfire yelled for him to right the pan, scolding him for his carelessness.

"Honestly! How much sense does it take to realize that if you tip something over, its contents will spill?" she hissed, taking the pan from him and shoving him away with her shoulder. "Idiot of idiots!"

He rolled his eyes, though he did not seem insulted. "Well, excuse me for trying."

"Be useful and set the table! You could at least do that, yes? I have no use for you, otherwise."

Karras laughed, putting his hands up and backing away from her. "I tell you… Tamaranian women are the bossiest of the lot. No mistake about that, but _most _of them have a prettier way of going about it."

"Unlike other women, Karras, I do not harbor the need to make you feel good about yourself."

The elevator doors opened and Robin emerged. There wasn't a trace of a smile on his face. She looked up, her snappy mood immediately changing into a cheerful one, for him.

"Good morning, Robin! Come sit for breakfast. The waffles are still hot and the sausages are ready. Would you like some scrambled eggs?"

Robin looked from her to Karras. His gaze remained on the prince who was just now setting plates down and trying to figure out exactly what to do with the utensils.

"Is he setting the table?" asked Robin.

Karras looked up momentarily before rolling his eyes.

"That is the plan, yes," Starfire replied. "If he does not stop staring at the forks and start making himself useful in the next fifteen seconds, I will ask him to leave."

Karras shot her a glare. "I am trying. X'Hal rut me, so demanding!"

Robin's suspicious gaze remained on him for several seconds before Robin left him alone and went to Starfire.

"Are you alright?" he asked in a cautious tone.

Starfire chuckled. "As well as could be expected." She looked over her shoulder at Karras, grinning at the confused look on his face as he tried to make sense of the odd looking spoon. They had "spoons" in Kalapatt, but theirs looked slightly different. "Set the table for eight, prince. I think Wyfern is still here. Do not break any plates."

"When have I ever broken plates?" asked Karras, scowling at her. "Like a child, you instruct me! How did I ever let you talk me into this chore? Crown prince of Kalapatt and I am letting you order me around…" He muttered a few more expletives, but he focused on his work, determined to prove to Starfire that he could accomplish the task of setting the table.

She laughed softly, returning her attention to the bacon. If wasn't long before she noticed that Robin hadn't moved from his place beside her and that he was staring at her. The mask made it impossible for her to decipher what he was thinking.

"What?" she asked in a soft tone.

His eyebrow arched. "You're… getting along… with him." His voice was even softer. He didn't want Karras to know they were talking about him.

The remark surprised her, and blinking, she realized that she was, indeed, getting along with the brat prince, however wretched getting along with him was. "Why, I suppose I am. How strange is that?"

Robin took a deep breath, glancing briefly at the prince then back at her. "Not as strange as any of us would expect. It's you, after all. But that doesn't mean I have to start liking him, right?"

"Of course you do not have to start liking him. You may continue to dislike him as much as you wish." She tried not to be so amused by the fact that much of his dislike probably stemmed from her primal hatred of Karras in the first place, that and the fact that Karras hadn't treated her as well as Robin believed she deserved. As independent as she was, she liked it when her man stood by her.

"Well, not that I _want _to dislike him… it's just—" He searched for a word as he got a cup and poured himself some coffee. He sighed. "I can't talk about this now." He grabbed a waffle from the stack. "Set the table for seven, Karras. I have a pretty busy morning. Thanks for breakfast, Starfire."

Starfire stared after him and tried not to be so hurt about the abrupt dismissal, yet again. _He did not even say good morning. _She woefully watched him retire into the elevators. If he caught her dejected expression, Robin made no show of it.

She wondered if this was one of those things she had to back away from; whether this was another one of those times when she should give him space. And then she was afraid, because she didn't know the answer. She didn't know if she should go to him or stay away, and she hadn't felt that kind of uncertainty with him in a long time.

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Starfire looked at the faces surrounding the information center. She sat to the outmost side of the curved couch, close enough to the rest of the group to be part of the huddle. To the other side of her was Raven, floating in mid-air placidly. While the empath was still close enough to be included, her usual body language showed her sense of isolation with the rest of world. Even in a group, Raven tended to keep herself apart, though less so now than she had when Starfire first found herself with them.

She recalled Raven's reaction to her when she first came to Earth; how Raven had given her one observant look and declared her "confused" and "harmless". Because she was those things, Raven had seen it fit to help her. Sometimes she wondered; if Raven had not given her unequivocal endorsement, would the Titans have taken her in? They probably would have, but she would have probably run away from fear of rejection before they could give her their invitation.

Raven's gaze at the moment swiveled slowly in her direction and again, Starfire felt she was being observed. But unlike other people, Starfire was mostly comfortable about having someone seeing into her emotions. She flashed Raven a melancholic smile before turning her attention back to Robin who was conducting the meeting.

Beast Boy, Cyborg, Galfore and Karras sat listening to him intently, Robin's presence commanding their attention. If Wyfern had stayed, she would have been just as focused. The young engineer had begged leave of them right after breakfast, saying she had matters to attend to in the ship. Even after having served as tour guide to Robin, she remained glassy-eyed with awe when she addressed him. Starfire could tell it made Robin slightly uncomfortable.

With Robin standing in front of what remained of their guests, he was at his element.

Splayed on the monitor of their super computer were the results of Aqualad's reports, side by side with the read-outs of the day to day data taken from the Tower's observation equipment. Robin spoke about gravitational fields and atmospheric disturbances. He showed how the manifestations were initially deceiving because they were cloaked behind the background noise the Bermuda Triangle generated. He explained it all like it was the simplest thing in the world, in spite of the fact that it had taken them weeks to make something out of nothing.

When Robin was done with the preamble of explaining, he looked up at the monitor with casual ease. "The data we have and the data Aqualad sent us concur at various significant levels. While we still couldn't be entirely sure that our theories are correct, we have enough evidence to support an attempt to catch our culprits."

Everyone agreed.

"I've already given it some thought," he said, turning away from the computer screen.

Starfire stifled a smile. Of course Robin had given it thought. He wouldn't be Robin if he hadn't.

"It's clear enough," he continued, "that they never come to Earth unless it's absolutely necessary. Before Maxwell Victoria resurfaced—so to speak—he'd been gone for months. In the last encounter with his… _transport ship, _we were totally unprepared to take advantage of the situation."

Starfire caught the emphasis in Robin's tone, as if he was speaking to her, though he did not even spare her a glance. It was enough for her to realize that Xyannis had every possibility of being brought up by name. She slid a wary glance at Karras. She knew she would have to tell him the truth, anyway, but how was Starfire going to explain her keeping it a secret for this long? Even if she hadn't seen Karras for years and she had no means to tell him between leaving Kalapatt and the arrival of Galfore's unit on Earth, she had stayed with Karras's family for six whole months. She could have told him; _should _have, but she hadn't, and now it seemed there was no excuse for keeping the truth from him. Telling him that Xyannis hadn't wanted him to know seemed so lame now. For the first time in her acquaintance of Karras, she actually felt like a child who knew she had been naughty, and that she was in _biiiig_ trouble with the grown ups.

She grimaced. She felt she would be lucky if Karras let her get away with it by merely sending her to her room. She sighed, trying to refocus on the discussion. If one of the Titans spilled the beans for her, there would be no one to blame but herself.

"The next time we get an opportunity," said Robin, "we _will _be prepared, and since we want to lure them out, we're going to have to use bait."

"So, _are _we going to transport Victoria back to Bludhaven?" asked Cyborg.

Robin shook his head. "Negative. Jump City would never allow it and frankly, whether we fake his presence in Bludhaven or not, to set up that kind of production over there would mean asking too many favors from the worse kinds of people. It's far too impractical to put him back there just to use him as bait. I'd end up selling my soul, and why would I do that if there was a better, less costly way?"

"Let's hear your plan then," said Raven.

Robin nodded. "We're going to give Blackfire a taste of her own medicine. We're going to do it the Tamaranian way."

All eyebrows arched at the words and Starfire felt a slight rush of excitement.

She smiled. Whatever Robin's plan was, she knew it would be a good one. She knew it would get them what they needed. It was why Robin was leader after all.

There was much to be done, she knew. And perhaps her little talk with him about matters of the heart could wait.

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Starfire stared at the elevator buttons outside of the doors, wondering if she should go up or go down.

She stood fidgeting on the Multi-purpose level platform, biting the nail of her thumb. At that point, she didn't know what she should do.

The lower floors were the chambers, where presently, Robin had gone to make a few arrangements with his contacts. He was working, and it needed to be done, or else they couldn't move ahead in their plans. Bothering him would be a bad idea, but she wasn't planning on speaking to him now. She was mostly thinking about—well, making an appointment of sorts. He might appreciate that better, or at least he wouldn't be as annoyed. It was somewhat depressing having to make an appointment with one's boyfriend, but it couldn't be helped. Robin was terribly testy that day. She did not want him to think she was being a nuisance.

That was the worse of the whole thing, of course. She hadn't felt like she could be a nuisance to Robin in months. Ever since they admitted their feelings for one another, giving him space when he looked like he needed it had seemed easy, and even then, he was affectionate and thoughtful whenever he took breaks from his obsessing. Today, it was different. The episode at breakfast was bad enough, but after the general meeting about Blackfire, he had simply refused to look at her, as if catching her eye would obligate him to give her the time of day.

She tried not to think about it so much; tried not to be so hurt by it. Instead, she willed herself to let it blow past her. She could pretend to be silly and air-headed for a day; keep her spirits up. Maybe if she looked clueless enough, Robin would soften up and actually give her the requested appointment, just because he had a tendency to be less gruff with someone who didn't seem to know any better.

Starfire groaned. _Wonderful, _she thought. _I am playing mind-games with Robin, now. How desperate. _

Slowly, she began to scrap the idea of going to see Robin out of her plans. She stared at the "up" button. What lay behind it was not a savory prospect either.

If she pressed up, it meant she was going to the rooftop, and up there was none other than Karras who was doing some training with Galfore. However, it wasn't that she loathed the company. After all, if she simply didn't want to be with Karras, then she wouldn't even bother going to the rooftop in the first place. It was a little more complicated than that.

Throughout most of their meeting about Blackfire, Starfire found herself praying, time and again, that Xyannis's name would not be mentioned. It occurred to her that while Karras had to know, having his sister's name blurted out in the middle of their discussion would be disastrous. She was intensely relieved, of course, when the meeting ended without mention of his sister, but it only meant she would have to bring the subject up herself, and whether or not she wanted to be the one to tell him, he had to know, anyway.

The fact was, now might be the best time to tell Karras, with Galfore present. That way, Karras would make no attempt to attack her in his anger. By the time he got the opportunity to try and strangle her without any witnesses, he'd have already cooled down.

Still, it didn't mean she was eager to tell him at all. The more she thought about having kept it from him all these years, the more she believed she should have told him sooner.

It wasn't that she was afraid of him. After all, she proved she could hold her own when it came to Karras, but there was that element of shame on her part, that she hadn't had the courage to make the right decision in the first place, which was to tell him the truth. Shame had, after all, felled many a fearless hero.

Should have; would have; could have.

"Um, Starfire," said Raven peering from behind some papers she was working on. "You're not a kinetic. For the buttons to light up, you have to physically raise your finger and use it to press."

She sighed. "Indeed." She pressed "up".

The elevator took her to the upper floors. She went up another flight of stairs to get to the open-air landing. As the rays of the sun hit her vision, she saw Galfore and Karras crossing swords. They were focused and they were looking a little red in the cheeks, but their spar bore none of the ferocity she and Karras had shown each other the previous day.

Oddly enough, she felt a certain degree of satisfaction in that. The fact that Karras was always better at getting a rise out of her had always been a kind of sore spot to her pride, but seeing him so calm and controlled sparring with Galfore, she realized that she could stir his instincts a lot more than he let on.

She watched a while, saying nothing. Galfore was a formidable warrior, still, and by sheer strength and endurance alone, he could out-fight anyone. If an enemy were to chop off his limb, Galfore would be the sort to take down ten others with what arm he had remaining.

Karras, she knew, was heaping with warrior skill. She had learned the extent of his talents first hand, and while she knew that both of them had gone all-out as far as exhibitions went, she was yet to see him fight when raising a sword meant saving one's life or taking another's.

Minutes later, Galfore stopped the spar and they both turned their attention to her, slightly winded.

"I am sorry for making you wait, princess. Is there something I can do for you?" asked Galfore.

Now that it was her turn to speak, Starfire felt a thunk in her belly. She felt an urge to retreat, but she steeled herself. This had to be done. "The wait was not long, and I did not mind it at all. However, it is not you I came to see, Galfore. I came to talk to Karras. There is a matter of great import that I wish to speak to him about."

Karras looked thoroughly surprised. Galfore was calmer.

"Then I shall leave you two alone for the time being."

"N-No!" Starfire regretted the word as soon as she said it. She reddened upon realizing how much of a coward she was being, and if Karras realized why she preferred to have Galfore around during this conversation, she would never live it down. "What I mean to say is… I do not wish to impose. I could speak to Karras another time, when he is less occupied. An appointment will suffice."

She had no choice. She had to make excuses now, so she supposed the she had to postpone the conversation, but whatever happened, this was something she had to bring up in private. It involved a delicate subject, and it was potentially explosive, especially in Karras's part. The least she could give him is the freedom to react without anyone else seeing him come undone.

Galfore arched an eyebrow. "But you said it was important."

"Yes, it is, but it could certainly wait a bit longer." _It has waited years, as it is. A few more hours will not make it any worse than it already is. _"Later, when His Highness Karras is free."

Galfore and Karras exchanged questioning glances at the honorific. It had slipped from her mouth unheeded, of course, but it was telling enough of how humbling this experience was going to be for her. She just knew that somewhere in the impending revelation, she would have to apologize to him. That was enough to put her on edge.

"Well?" Galfore asked, directing his gaze at the prince.

Karras shrugged. "Later then, princess. It was the captain who requested this training session with me. I do not wish to postpone his request, even for yours."

Starfire nodded, half-disappointed. As unsavory as her task was, she wanted to get it over with as soon as possible, but indeed, she would not want to take this hour Galfore had asked for.

Galfore smiled serenely. "I do not mind in the least."

"Of course you do not, Galfore," said Starfire. "But Karras and I are in agreement. He and I will meet later."

Galfore easily gave in. She left them to their training and she was back in the elevator, contemplating again whether she should try to see Robin.

She ended up deciding not to bother him. If Robin wanted to talk, he would come see her himself.

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It was fun helping Cyborg make improvements on the T-ship. Not so much because it made her feel useful, but it was ever so entertaining to see Cyborg and Beast Boy duke it out over the impossibly complicated machinery. She was due to go with Raven to the Jump City Prison facility a bit after lunch. They had some matters to discuss with the warden and the federal agent assigned to Maxwell Victoria's case. In the meantime, Raven had some documentation to finish and Starfire had time to kill. She decided she would spend her time assisting Cyborg.

Starfire suspected that Cyborg infinitely preferred to work alone, but to his credit, he acknowledged the little help an extra pair of hands could offer, even if one of the pairs had an indomitable tendency to transform into hooves or paws.

It was somewhat of a treat to watch Cyborg and Beast Boy arguing, mainly because Beast Boy was earnestly trying to make sense of the techno-babble Cyborg was spewing and Cyborg, though yelling in parts, knew that he couldn't get angry. It was certainly enough to keep her amused through the rest of the morning.

When Cyborg complained that he left a particular spare part in his room, Starfire volunteered to get it.

"I shall fetch the Purple Licorice Thingy with a Plugger Gadge-mahoojig," she said with a cheerful smile.

Beast Boy sighed. "Is _that _what it was? Why didn't you just say so, Cy?"

Cyborg did not honor the question with a reply. He looked to Starfire gratefully while he continued to twist some wires from deep within the engine. "Would you, Star? Thanks."

Starfire nodded, taking off for the elevators. She went straight to the chamber levels and went to Cyborg's room.

The metal and battery-fluid tang ever present in his quarters filled her nostrils as she searched the tables for the ship part. It didn't take long to find the piece and she was out of Cyborg's room in just a few minutes.

But she found herself hesitating at the door when she spotted Karras just stepping out of Galfore's chambers.

Her mind immediately went to his sister, and she was once again assaulted by an urge to put off all possible confessions to him. She had to wonder why it was such an unpleasant task for her, this revelation. She could only explain it as admitting a kind of failure to him, on her part. And admitting to him she was wrong was about as enjoyable to her as being eaten alive by a Chrysalis Hunter.

So there she was, the great and strong princess of Tamaran, saver of worlds and bringer of hope, being a coward in the face of the inevitability of delivering the awful truth.

She turned to run—literally—when Karras called out her name. Of course she had no choice but to respond. She couldn't very well pretend she hadn't heard him. He was _right there._

She faced him, stiffly. "Y-Yes?"

He shot her a suspicious frown. He had never seen her uneasy. Even when they were fighting, she would always have a kind of arrogant nonchalance to her bearing, as if to tell him, "I may be angry, but I know _exactly _what I'm doing!" before she kicked him between the legs.

"I was just about to go look for you. You wanted to talk to me about something earlier?" he said.

She stalled. "Yes."

There was a silence, and for a minute, Starfire wondered if he was at a loss for words, then she realized he was actually waiting for her to say more.

He arched an eyebrow. "Well? What is it?"

Starfire stared a moment. Maybe they should talk about this somewhere else.

Her room?

She immediately scrapped that idea. Her room was personal; a little _too _private, and as embarrassing as it was to admit, Robin would _hate _the idea that she had let Karras in there.

She thought about the training room.

_There are weapons there. _

No, the training room would be a _bad _place to make such revelations to Karras.

The conference room? Too big. It was like using a salad bowl instead of a spoon to scoop some sugar in a cup of coffee.

This empty hallway was the best private place there was at the moment.

Starfire took a deep breath and finally found the words to begin. "It is about your sister, Xyannis."

There was a tension in his shoulders, like she had held a knife to his throat. For a moment, it looked as if he didn't want to hear about what she had to say, but then he relaxed, leaning back against the wall opposite her. He crossed his arms over his chest and the brilliance that was Karras's devil-may-care eyes shone like dark daggers. "What about Xyannis?"

"I knew her."

He remained silent, watching her.

She had to admit, the look on his face was intensely intimidating, as if he was waiting for her to make a mistake, and when she did, he would pounce. Perhaps he had always looked like that; had always done that, but until now, she had always reciprocated his animosity; had always matched his battle-stance with her own. Now, he was ready to fight, but she was only good for fleeing.

She swallowed her feelings of inadequacy and pushed herself to go on. "She and I were friends. Dear friends."

His presence pressed on her. She wanted to melt into the walls.

"How?" He asked.

_How? _She wasn't sure what he meant. How did they become friends? How was it that his wonderful, majestic sister could be friends with a whimpering, delicate, second-hand crown princess? He certainly made it sound like there was no way in the underworld that a friendship could be forged between someone like her and someone like his sister. "W-What?"

"How did you meet?"

She detected the impatience in his voice, but she steeled herself against it. "We were… were slaves with the same master; the same Gordanian master. The first day I came, she caught me crying, and she said I shouldn't cry because it would only upset the Gordanians and I would be whipped for it. She took care of me from then on. When I got whipped, she took the whipping with me, just so I wouldn't think I was alone; so I wouldn't lose hope. When the masters beat me, she would treat my wounds, even if she knew most of them would be gone the next day. When they used the collar on me, she would stay by my cot so she could be there when I woke up from the nightmares. The collars had after-effects when they were used it on us, you see; differing from slave to slave. Some would be sick the entire night, throwing up and getting shivers. Some would have muscle spasms and some would cramp all over. I'm Tamaranian; physically strong, so the collar could only get me through my mind. I had nightmares."

His jaw twitched as he listened to her. She didn't know if he remembered his sister to be so caring. "What was the effect on her?"

It was a strange question. "Pain, in her head. She said it was like something was cleaving her skull over and over and over… it would last hours through the night."

Starfire remembered how sometimes, Xyannis's pain was so severe that she would scream and bang her head on the stone walls, as if she was trying to substitute one pain for another. Starfire remembered going to her, pleading her to stop, especially when Xyannis drew blood. There would be splatters of red on the wall, and Xyannis's filthy bed sheets would be stained anew.

"How long were you with her?" he asked.

"A year… maybe a little less."

"And then your planet took you back."

She nodded.

"I heard the stories." He turned his gaze slightly away from her. "Shortly after the stories of the lost crown princess of Tamaran, we heard a rumor that Xyannis was dead."

_Untruth._She sighed. There was no truth whatsoever to the rumor, whatever it was. She had gone back to Gordane after her escape from the ship. She had gone back to the house of the master she reviled. She did it for Blackfire, mostly, but she had seen Xyannis anyway, alive and surviving the way she always did.

It was actually around the time Starfire got to Kalapatt that she became most uncertain about Xyannis's state of being. But even then, Starfire was vaguely certain Xyannis lived, mostly because her sources of information had given her no reason to believe otherwise. By then, she supposed Xyannis's family had every reason to believe she was dead, but _still…_

In spite of the rumors the Kalapattian Royal Family heard, Starfire could almost feel the delicate string of hope they clung to when they made mention of Xyannis.

If Starfire had brought to them the lie Xyannis wanted her to deliver, that would have shattered their hope completely. In all her years of slavery, she had learned one, all-encompassing truth: She loathed cruelty. It hardly mattered if it was being given or taken, it was horrible all the same. She could not be so cruel as to destroy that desperate sliver of hope they had that Xyannis was alive somewhere, and that one day, she would return to them.

She should not have made that promise to Xyannis; that she would speak the lie. She should have known that she would never make good on that promise.

And that very moment, standing in front of Karras, she would break that promise completely. "She was not dead. She was alive. And when I got to your palace, I supposed her more alive than dead, simply because I knew people who would tell me if something bad had happened to her."

An icy silence fell upon them. He swallowed. "You… knew?"

"V-Vaguely."

"But there were… " He breathed deeply. By that alone, Starfire could tell he was getting _angry. _"There were people you could ask? People who could tell you? Could you have… could you have found her?"

Starfire tensed. "Not likely. Even then, it was difficult to find people. I was—I was trying to find my own sister. I was—I had many things to worry about—"

_Oh X'Hal! _she thought in despair. _My excuses sound so wretched! Even to me! _

"You were in our castle for six months. You could have said something. You could have—"

"I know. But she did not want to be found. You must believe me when I tell you this, Karras." She prayed he would not ask for details. She prayed that he would spare himself the pain of her having to tell him that Xyannis had wanted them to _think _she was dead.

His face was beginning to contort into a fierce scowl. "What do you mean she didn't want to be found? Why wouldn't she want to be found? We were her family! _I _wanted to find her!"

She gritted her teeth. "Just that, Karras. She did not want to be found! Please do not make me explain it."

He pushed off from his wall, moving a little closer. "It does not make any sense." His voice was grating, like a barbed whip. It actually made her step back. There was a wall behind her.

_Goodness. Nowhere else to run. _

"You _must _explain, because it _doesn't make any sense!"_ he finally yelled. "You knew! You could have found her! You could have told us! Why did you not tell us?"

She swallowed, eyes widening at the accusatory glare. "I made a promise…"

He banged his palm against the wall beside her head and the sound rang through her ears. She yelped, pressing her back against the wall.

"K-Karras!" Her heart jumped and began to drum against her chest. "I am sorry, but I couldn't--!"

He grabbed her by the collar of her shirt and she actually panicked. She could push her off him, of course. She was at least as strong as he was, but her resolve had weakened. She was powerless, because she was sorry, and he had every reason to be enraged.

"Is she alive now?" he ground out through grit teeth. She struggled to reply, but he had grown impatient. He shook her, frustrated because she was saying nothing. "Tell me if you know, Koriand'r. Tell me _now!"_

She squeezed her eyes shut, wrenching her gaze from his horribly penetrating eyes. "Karras, l-let go!"

And then the grip from her collar was gone. She fell to the floor, weak-kneed, only then realizing that his rough hold had been the only thing holding her up at all. She released a breath, as if she had been choking on his aura, and she gasped, opening her eyes.

Robin was there, out of nowhere, slamming Karras against the opposite wall. Robin jammed one arm across Karras's throat while he twisted Karras's striking arm in the other.

Karras's protested with a gurgled cry.

Robin tightened his lock. "What the _hell _do you think you're doing, Karras?"

Starfire could see Robin straining. It was no small feat for a human to overcome a Kalapattian, but Robin was managing it, and worse, he was managing it because he was _furious. _

"R-Robin!" she cried, coming to her senses. She pushed herself off the floor. "Robin, please, let him go! He wasn't hurting me! _Richard!"_

At the sound of his birth name, he responded, releasing Karras roughly.

Karras tumbled to the side. It took him no more than two seconds to recover before the fire in his eyes returned.

Robin stepped in front of her, as if to protect her. She wasn't entirely unappreciative of it. After all, she had wanted to get away from Karras, even if she knew he wouldn't really hurt her under the circumstances.

Karras must have understood Robin's body language, because he scowled. "I wasn't going to—"

"_Don't you touch her, Karras"_ said Robin in a menacing tone. "You _touch _her and I'll make you suffer so bad, you're gonna _want _me to put you out of your misery, you son of a—"

Starfire gasped. "Robin! Please!"

She simply couldn't let it get out of hand. The atmosphere was too charged for her to leave both men to their own devices. She had a distinct understanding of where Karras was coming from, but Robin… she was shocked by the ferocity in Robin's tone. She couldn't understand exactly why he was so angry. He had seen her hurt by others. He had seen her hurt by _Karras_but this seemed so apart from all that, like it was coming from somewhere else, altogether.

Robin fell silent, but his gaze remained on Karras. Robin said nothing, but the air was thick around him; oppressive enough for even Karras to keep still.

Gingerly, Starfire slipped from behind Robin. Perhaps it was the best time to speak calming words. "I—Karras, I did not wish to keep the truth from you, but I was bound by a promise to her. As it is, I am breaking my promise to her right now, telling you she is alive. She did not want you to know. She did not—"

"What do you—" He stopped, realizing that he was yelling. He tried again. "What do you mean by that?" he asked in a calmer tone. "What do you mean she didn't want us to know?"

"I did not know why, then, but now… she _is _alive. I saw her a few weeks ago, here on Earth. It was by accident, you see. I did not expect… well, neither of us did. She was working with Blackfire—"

"A few weeks ago? Blackfire?" His tone was rising again. "What does Blackfire have to do with this? Talk sense!"

She sighed, grasping her head in her hands as she bowed it in frustration. She was messing the entire thing up, not to mention the fact that Robin's ominous presence was half-terrifying, half-reassuring.

She had known telling Karras the truth would be bad, but not _this _bad.

Starfire looked up, catching the confusion, hurt and anger in Karras's gaze. She tried to settle the chaos in her nerves. "Alright. Alright then. We must discuss this in a calm, civilized manner. I—I need to sit. We all do. This will be a long story…"

After a pause that could have crushed them all flat from the weight of it, Karras nodded, swallowing the tension around him.

"Conference room, then," he said, already turning to leave. "You could bring your bodyguard with you if you want."

Starfire flinched, only partially relieved that Karras was going back to his normal, sarcastic self. She watched Karras walk away, thinking about how much of a disaster the entire thing was. When Karras disappeared at the corner, she finally turned to look at Robin.

He hadn't moved, and he wasn't looking at her. His gaze remained where Karras had disappeared to.

She bit her lip anxiously before she spoke. "I am sorry I upset you, Robin. I did not mean for him to—"

"Don't apologize for him," he snapped. He took her hand, but there was absolutely no warmth in his grasp, and he began to lead them in the direction Karras took. "Let's get this telling over with and—"

Starfire's gaze narrowed. _And why not another emotional rollercoaster?_ she thought. She may as well stay on the ride.

She stayed in place, snatching her hand from his. _"What _is wrong with you today, Robin?"

He turned to look at her, his face rendered completely emotionless because of his mask. "What do you mean what's wrong with me?"

"You have been—you have been building this _wall _since _last night. _And then you walked out on me before breakfast. This morning, during and after the meeting, you would not even look at me! Is it something I did?"

He frowned. "N-No. It's not—it's not like that…"

"And what is all this? You reacted so violently to Karras!"

His face took on a grim set. "He was hurting you!"

"He was not! It was rather uncomfortable, yes, but it was no cause for you to strangle him and threaten him and—"

"He was _touching _you!"

Starfire's jaw dropped. "Is this because you are _jealous, _Robin?"

"No!" he yelled. "I mean, yes! I mean, not really—" He growled and turned to go. "I don't have time to talk about this right now. You have stuff to tell Karras, right? And I've got work to do. So, come on—"

He tried to take her hand again but she slapped it away. That stunned him.

"I will not have it," she growled. "I will not let you put this off again. Let Karras wait. We will talk _now. _Do you hear me, _Richard Grayson? _Now!"

Normally, standing her ground would force Robin to see reason, but these were not normal times and the cloud that surrounded Robin's good sense grew thicker.

"Why do we always have to talk, huh?" he said. "Why do I have to keep opening myself up to you? I don't always want to be telling you things, Starfire! Can't you understand that? Sometimes, I just want you to _leave me the hell alone!"_

Starfire felt like he had slapped her in the face. She blinked, her jaw dropping.

_I will not cry. He does not mean what he is saying. He would never purposely hurt me…_

But the sting in her eyes was unbearable and her gaze went liquid.

"Oops."

It was a foreign voice, belonging to neither of them. Starfire cleared the blur of tears pooling in her eyes by blinking. That misplaced "Oops," had thrown a wrench in the drama.

She looked. It was Cyborg and he was standing awkwardly at the end of the hallway. His eyes could not meet theirs.

He made a nonsensical gesture. "I was just… well…" he stammered. "The purply licorice… thingama…"

Starfire wiped her cheeks with the back of her hand and she looked around her. She found the spare part not too far away and picked it up. "H-Here. I am sorry I took my time…"

Cyborg waved her apology away. "It's totally fine," he said, sounding like he was in a bit of a rush. He took the coiled wire from her and hurriedly turned to leave. "I'll see you downstairs. Or not. Take your time. I mean… yeah. Bye."

He fled.

It certainly took the cry out of her, and she caught Robin's gaze. She looked at him tentatively; fearfully. As if to plead with him: "You will take back what you said, won't you? You did not mean to hurt me, did you?"

Robin expelled a breath, rubbing his eyes with his fingers. Then he looked up. "Jesus, Starfire. I'm sorry I said those things. I didn't mean them. I'm so sorry—"

She was too relieved to be angry. "It is… alright." She swayed a bit. She felt like someone had spun her relentlessly on a merry-go-round until she screamed to be let off, and when the merry-go-round stopped, it was done so suddenly that her world was still turning.

She felt his arms around her. That was good. She sank into it.

If Cyborg hadn't shown up, what a painful predicament they would be in, right now.

He whispered more apologies, making up for his hurtful words by supplementing it with assurances of how he appreciated having her to listen to his issues; that her mere presence often calmed his taut nerves. He chastised himself for being insensitive and cold and alienating. And he promised to do better next time.

His words helped. She listened, and she let the balm work.

"Will you tell me now, Robin?" she asked quietly.

She felt his chest rise and fall then he replied. "Yeah."

He released her from his embrace, but he twined his fingers through hers. He went to the side of the hallway, sitting on the floor and leaning against the wall. She sat in front of him, so that she could look him in the eyes.

She would let him keep the mask on. It was easier for him that way.

"They're taking you away from me, Kori," he said in a soft, defeated tone. "I could feel it. I don't want to be selfish. I don't want to keep you away from your people, but I couldn't stand it. I don't want to hate Galfore, or Taryia or Wyfern or… even your brother, whom I've never met. But I resent them for winning a piece of you everyday. If they could do that while you're here, with _me, _then how much more could they take from you when you're back with them in Tamaran?"

"But Richard, I am not going to Tamaran."

He smiled wanly. "Really?"

She had a feeling the question was rhetorical.

"Because you should," he said softly. "You should. I can't tell you why, but you should. You probably already know you should."

She shook her head. He was wrong. She understood his insecurity, but he didn't have to be afraid. "I do not think I should… but if I do go back with them to Tamaran, it will not be on a permanent basis. Goodness, why do you even assume I would go there by myself? I would want you and the others to come. I think that if I have to do something I do not want to do, I should derive _some _pleasure out of it by showing you my home planet."

"Kori… if you left for Tamaran, of course we'll go with you." He cupped her face gently with his gloved hand. "But…"

"But, what?"

He looked at her, fear clear in every line of his face. "Its pull is strong enough, twenty six light years away. I'm afraid that if you go there, it's not going to let you go."

She sighed, her heart reaching out to him. "Oh, Richard no… it will never be like that. I will go where you go. I will stay where you stay. Do not be afraid." She kissed him, as if to seal the promise.

His hold on her was tight, and the kiss went so deep that she was already thinking up ways to continue this somewhere more private, but it was Robin who pulled away.

He looked at her. He had something more to say, and he looked as if he'd rather not say it, but he had promised to do better, and he would keep his promise now, at least.

"I was…" He tore his gaze from hers. He took his time and he swore a bit under his breath. "Maybe I was a _little _jealous of that prick."

She frowned, but she did not chastise him. It was hard enough for him to admit it outright. He already knew he was wrong to feel it. No need for her to say it.

He looked mortified, but he forced himself to speak. "I heard you when you started talking to him in the hallway. Honestly, I didn't want to hear it, whatever it was, but then you began to say things and… I couldn't shut it out."

She cringed. She hadn't wanted him to know how bad her slavery had been. "I am sorry you heard that. You did not need to know about all that."

"The worse part about it was: I was more pissed at the fact that you told him and you didn't tell me."

She rolled her eyes. "Oh mercy…"

"I'm sorry. I'm a selfish asshole, I know. I mean, there you were, talking about how _bad _it was over there and all I could do was be jealous." He looked so ashamed.

She shook her head. "It is not that," she said gently. "The reason I told him and not you is because—well, it wouldn't have affected him as much as it would have affected you. He doesn't care anything about me, so you see; what would it matter to him if those things happened to me? He might say it was horrible, but after that he would shrug and probably make some crack about how I deserved it."

He frowned. "Nobody deserves to be treated that way. You least of all."

"Goodness, I know, Richard. I am just saying that is how he would probably react."

"Then that just makes him a bigger asshole than I am. On top of all that, I heard him yelling at you and then I saw him _manhandling you."_

"Oh, Richard, it was not _that _bad."

"Well, what the hell was I suppose to do? I was jealous and he was treating you like shit. That was all the excuse I needed. I _so _wanted to beat the crap out of him."

"I thought you were a teensy bit excessive."

"Yeah, well…"

"But thank you, anyway." She placed a dainty kiss on his cheek.

He somewhat grudgingly allowed it. "I wasn't being excessive." He muttered. "Think of it from _my _point of view. It was bad enough he came out of nowhere looking like some hot-shot planetary prince, but he affects you—"

_"Negatively, _Robin."

"Yeah, negatively. And you know what? I actually _liked _that you hated him. It comforted me. How pathetic is that?"

It was _slightly_ pleasing that he felt that way, but it was all wrong. He had more to be jealous about with _Aqualad_ than with Karras. She did not say that, though. He seemed very fragile now.

"But then this morning, you were—you were _getting along. _You're beginning to _like _this guy, aren't you?"

She gaped at him. "Auron curse me, Richard! You _must _be joking."

"I am _not _joking. I've been thinking about all that, and then you had your little drama in this hallway… something had to give, you know!"

She scowled. "Well, Richard, if it makes you feel any better, he told me this morning that he was in love with Taryia and that she cared for him in return."

Robin rolled his eyes. "Oh, please. Are you going to tell me that _that_ walking pile of ego doesn't enjoy playing around with women?"

Starfire grimaced. "Well…"

After a heartbeat, she suddenly realized it was all so silly, so she did the only think she could think of doing: She promptly hit Robin upside the head.

He was jolted speechless.

She planted her fists on her waist. "How can you even think I would be attracted to a man like that, Robin? What do you think; that I would let him hit me over the head with a club then let him pull me around by the hair like some caveman? Are you _completely_ gone of your senses?"

His mouth hung open. He blinked and stared like he couldn't believe that she had hit him like that.

He looked so unlike his constantly composed self.

Her disapproval of him melted away, slowly being replaced by the hilarious realization that the Kung Fu Master was completely useless in the face of a yapping girlfriend who had just given him a slap to the head.

She began to laugh. At first all she could do was laugh and point, and then she was rolling on her back in laughter. It probably wasn't as funny as she thought, but she kept remembering the look on his face and it just kept fueling her guffaws.

Mercifully, he started to laugh with her. Either he realized how ridiculous he looked or he realized how ridiculous the whole thing about his jealousy was.

She sincerely hoped it was the latter.

When they finally got their laughter under control, they took deep, calming breaths.

Robin leaned back against the wall, looking at her. "Need company telling Karras the rest of the stuff about Xyannis?"

She thought about it. "Not really, Robin. Honestly, I do not think he ever thought about hurting me for this. He just got a bit upset, that is all. I was expecting it."

"I think I'll go with you, anyway."

She smiled, taking his hand. She did not need to tell him that he had to behave himself if he didn't want to get thrown out of the conference room. "Let us go then. I think we have kept His Royal Highness waiting long enough."

"Perish the thought."

Robin got to his feet, bringing Starfire up with him.

On impulse, she wrapped her arms around him, closing her eyes and sighing as she pressed her cheek to his chest.

He returned the embrace, his hold tight. "You alright?"

She nodded. "Richard… once upon a time, I crossed the galaxy, leaving my home behind. I traveled twenty six light years from my home planet to this strange world where _everything _seemed to be underwater. I knew not why I had gone so far to a planet such as this. These last few years, being with the team, and being with you… now I know. Now I know why."

_The End._

_Just kidding!_

_To be continued…_

_

* * *

_

Author's notes: Thanks so much for your patience!

My detailed replies will follow shortly!


	14. Titan Tactics

Author's Notes: This was a long time coming. My sincerest apologies! The fact is I've been engrossed on putting my website together after having neglected that project for a year. Lol. Now, it's well underway. It will be up soon and I'm quite excited! I'd also like to blame this delay on the Harry Potter mania. I am so sorry I got caught up in it, but I simply couldn't get away. Now I have to make up for it big time, I know. So here's this, and then my other story, too, has been updated.

Standard disclaimers apply.

**PATH TO TAMARAN**

**Chapter Fourteen: Titan Tactics**

Karras would not look at her.

He sat as still as stone, opposite hers and Robin's on the vast round table. The twitching of his fists was the only sign that he was struggling at all.

Starfire tried not to let the size of the room and the ticking time bomb that was Karras unnerve her. She looked at Robin, hoping his presence would calm her.

Robin wasn't showing any emotion at all. That only helped a little bit. When Robin showed no emotion, it simply meant he could still manage to control it, but it also meant he was nonetheless suppressing them. He wasn't relaxed. She had to wonder if he would be able to maintain his cool.

She fiddled momentarily with the computer stylus clipped on the side of her seat. "Karras, will you tell all this to your King?"

He raised his gaze sharply. "What sort of stupid question is that? Of course I will. If Xyannis is plotting to take over Vega, then he must know."

Starfire rolled her eyes, frowning. "That is yet to be proven, Karras, which is why I ask. Perhaps spare your father some pain until it is certain—"

"His Majesty would not appreciate me 'sparing him of pain' if he finds out I kept this from him."

"I am merely suggesting—"

"You of all people should know how rulers put little importance on sentiment. Your father is, after all, the model of ruthlessness particularly when it comes to his daughters."

Starfire could not even explain how aggravating his words to her were.

"Hey!" snapped Robin, his eyes narrowing to slits. "That was completely uncalled for. You deal with your father and let Starfire deal with hers."

Karras turned his gaze away from them, jaw clenching. He took a few deep breaths. "I… I apologize."

Again, Starfire found herself thrown off by Karras's relative congeniality.

"I know little about your relationship with your father," said Karras. "But _my _father does care for his children, and for his daughter to be so poisoned by _your _father's daughter as if they were equally wronged by their parents… I am sorry if my words are harsh, but that is how I feel."

Starfire felt Robin tense beside her and she immediately placed a hand on his arm to restrain him from saying anything. Yes, Karras's words were harsh, but maybe because she envied him the affection his father showed him.

"Understood," she said. "But in fairness, I must tell you that Xyannis was poisoned long before she met Blackfire. Blackfire nurtured it, perhaps having seen it in Xyannis in the first place. I am not saying Blackfire and Xyannis share the same principles, for I am certain, at least, that Blackfire's motives are far more selfish—"

Karras glared at her. "Xyannis is not selfish in the least! Whatever her reasons, they are _good _reasons. Blackfire is misleading her!"

Starfire glared back. She understood the importance of loyalty to one's sister. She had, after all, believed in Blackfire for so long. But there was a limit to justifying the wrongdoings of your siblings; a point when denying the truth brought pain, or worse, danger. "Do not close your eyes to her faults, Karras! _I_ am the only person other than you who understandsthe goodness in Xyannis. She took the burden of suffering for me in Gordane whenever she thought I could not carry it, so do not speak to me as if I do not know her! But no matter how you look at it, her involvement with Blackfire in her quest to strengthen the unity of Vegan Realms against those like the Gordanians and Citadellians shows a flaw in her character. If Xyannis were really more concerned about uniting the realms, then she would have gone back to Kalapatt, ascended her throne and worked to unite the realms from there. It is slow work, and she would only have as much power as the other realms are willing to grant her, but it is the right way, and it _can _work, but no, she did not do it that way. Instead, she allied herself with Blackfire. I do not know what Blackfire told her, or offered her, but to trust Blackfire instead of King Tharras in 'uniting the realms' bodes badly. Besides, it is ridiculous to think that Blackfire is 'misleading' Xyannis. Xyannis is not a woman who can be convinced of something she does not believe in."

The fury in his gaze lessened, as if the vicious swipe she had dealt him drained his anger away, but the stubborn set to his chin showed that she had not quailed him in the least. "It would seem that our lives run more parallel than I ever thought it would, princess."

She hated to admit it, but he was right. "It is entirely possible that we can put a stop to Blackfire and Xyannis's plans from this part of the galaxy. We have no way to confirm whether they already have networks in or around Vega, but at least Blackfire and Xyannis are within our reach."

Karras nodded. "Yes. We can very well try to cut them from here."

"But can you? Defy your sister, I mean?"

"I can ask you the same question, princess."

"I have fought Blackfire before. I have defied her and sent her to _jail _in the Centari system. You have not proven that you can remove your affection for Xyannis to do the right thing."

Karras scoffed. "Neither can you, come to that."

Starfire frowned. "What is that supposed to mean?"

"You care for Xyannis as much as I, you sentimental twit. Do not lecture me about 'removing affection'. If you were any good at removing affection, you would have caught Xyannis the last time you met her. Or am I wrong?"

She hated it when he made sense. She really did. And it was worse because he had already managed to aggravate her in many other ways and that she had gotten herself into this particular argument in the first place. In her frustration, she grabbed the stylus from her seat, got to her feet and chucked the stylus at him. It hit him square on the face, nicking his eye. He cried out, his offended eye squeezed shut.

He got up, hand to his face. "What in the underworld is _wrong with you? _You stupid brat, do you see what you have done? You could have taken my eye out!"

"You would have deserved it!"

"For what? Winning an argument? I swear to X'Hal, woman, I _pity Robin _who has to put up with you!"

Starfire reddened, though she stubbornly kept her glare on him.

There was a sigh. It was Robin. "Are you two finished or do I have to tell you both to stand in the corner?"

She had almost forgotten he was there. She looked at him shamefacedly and noted with surprise how relaxed he suddenly seemed. His earlier tension seemed to have dissipated, and she realized a moment later that it was because she was fighting with Karras again. It made her redden even more.

She looked back at Karras. "Fine then. You have made your point, but it is not for me to decide whether you may help us or not. Permission is for Robin to give."

Robin crossed his arms over his chest, cocking a smile. "Oh? Could've sworn you had complete control over the situation."

Starfire wondered if it could _be _more embarrassing.

Robin rose to his feet. It was a sign that the meeting was coming to a close. "I'll let Galfore decide whether you should come with us or not, Karras. He's your captain. He would know you better. I'll speak to him later. In the meantime, you and I… we gotta talk."

Starfire was utterly surprised by Robin's words. Karras didn't look like he had expected it either.

"Robin," Starfire warned. She and Karras fighting was one thing; Robin and Karras fighting was another.

Robin cocked a smile. "I'll be nice. You have a meeting to attend with Raven, right? Go grab a quick lunch so you can get to it already."

She shot him another suspicious stare.

Robin met her gaze with mild amusement. "You trust me, Starfire?"

She blinked. "Of course I do!"

"Then do as I ask."

"Why, Starfire," said Karras with an infuriating grin. "I didn't know you cared so much for my welfare. Don't worry. I can hold me own against your _s'lor__."_

Starfire scowled, her aggravation for Karras rising anew. "You know what, Robin? Do whatever you want with Karras. He deserves what is coming to him!" She stormed out of the conference room.

She could have sworn she heard someone chuckling, and it didn't sound like it was Karras.

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Flying with Raven over the waters of the bay was always a silent experience. While Starfire would be most eager to engage Raven in casual but enjoyable conversation, Raven was never one to encourage it. So if Starfire happened to tell her that the day was wonderful, Raven's response would likely be along the lines of, "Yeah, wonderful," as if she didn't agree at all. Raven had, since the accident with Cinderblock, been more distant than usual, which was a shame, since Starfire believed they had made so much progress in their bonds of friendship before that. Even when Raven had helped her get through her sightlessness, there was that familiar wall that had suddenly reappeared, as if it had never disappeared at all. But in spite of all that, Starfire had not felt deterred, not even when Raven's scathing remarks were directed at her.

Starfire had learned not to take Raven's curt and sarcastic responses personally; at least not all the time. Besides, when it came down to it, Raven was relatively kinder to her than she was with everyone else.

Downtown Jump City was still quite a while ahead and Starfire couldn't help flashing Raven a bright smile.

Raven raised her eyebrow. "What?"

"I have not had the opportunity to talk to you and the others about your feelings for my people. I have discussed with Robin his feelings for them extensively, but the rest of you I have horribly neglected."

"Don't worry about it. We're fine."

"Oh, I know you are fine, but I am asking you anyway: How has the arrival of my people affected you?"

Raven's eyebrow arched again. "Do I _look _like I get affected by anything?"

"Sometimes. But you do not care, this time?"

For a moment, Raven didn't respond, and Starfire was willing to leave it at that, but to Starfire's surprise, Raven did have something to say about it.

"Your people have been… interesting. They aren't as alien as I thought they would be."

"You like them, then?"

"Let's… not get ahead of ourselves."

Starfire giggled. It was hard to tell whether Raven did actually like anybody beyond the Titan circle, but Starfire believed Raven could like more people than she was willing to admit. "Well, you seem to think Karras particularly funny."

"I suppose he is. His sense of humor is just evil enough to amuse me."

"And you like that Taryia is quiet?"

"I appreciate that she would rather listen than speak."

"And Galfore?"

"He's observing us. He's determining whether we're worthy of his princess."

Starfire reddened at the slightly unfavorable assessment. "He does not mean to do that."

"I know. He likes us, anyway, but he keeps watch, nonetheless. I also noticed that he lets his lieutenants interact with you as freely as possible. He wants to see how you would handle them, particularly Karras who resents the indirect authority you have over him."

Starfire scoffed. "Indirect authority indeed."

Raven shrugged. "He answers to his captain but his captain answers to you. You don't think he takes that into consideration? He does, but it doesn't mean he has to like it."

"He has made that quite evident."

Raven smiled ever so slightly. "I'm no soothsayer, but I have a feeling he will never completely like you. If he ever does, he'll hate himself for it."

"Humph. That is _his_ problem."

Raven chuckled. "Because you're _sooo_likeable, aren't you?"

The sarcasm was palpable, but Starfire did not take offense. It actually made Starfire laugh and blush just a little. Raven could be nice, but she wouldn't be Raven if she didn't make you feel the slightest bit disparaged.

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Raven and Starfire arrived in the Jump City Prison facility just in time for their appointment with Warden Gabe Turner and Federal Agent Therese Rodriguez, the woman handling the case involving Maxwell Victoria.

The warden received them in his office, offering them seats while Agent Rodriguez hovered in the background. She was offered a seat same as them but she preferred to stand, keeping her gaze glued on the Titans. No amount of Starfire's bright smiling won the Agent over, but at least Warden Turner was more at ease.

Agent Rodriguez implied she was wary of them by her actions, though her hard hazel eyes showed no fear. She was a tall woman who looked iron-willed and uncompromising in her crisp, quality pants suit. Her blazer was unbuttoned so they could see the gun strapped to her body. Somehow, it felt more like she was flashing them with her firearm. It seemed she wanted them to know she was packing, but in spite of all that, her facial expression was one of calm. She was not outwardly threatened by them, but she wasn't going to like them, either. Her frizzy brown hair was tamed into a neat braid, and her pretty, petite-featured face was hardened by the incensed look in her eyes. It was clear she didn't want to be there, but Robin had, in his brilliant way, managed to compel her to make an appearance. Perhaps it was that which incensed her the most.

Warden Turner, probably reading Agent Rodriguez's actions the same way Starfire and Raven did, seemed world weary enough to let it go with a barely discernable sigh. His thick white hair was trimmed neatly in a gentleman's classic cut. His broad shoulders, meeting on a thick, muscular neck, seemed stouter wrapped in his dark, navy blue suit. He wasn't as lean as he probably used to be, but there was still a lot of strength in his limbs, even calmly seated in his desk.

Introductions done, Raven and Starfire explained their situation to them in the broadest of terms and told them of their plans to remedy it.

"It's a fairly straightforward proposal," said Raven, handing Warden Turner and Agent Rodriguez twenty-page manuscripts, each in a leather portfolio. The teal-colored portfolio had the Titan insignia embossed on the cover. Inside the pocket of the portfolio was a data disk containing information Warden Turner and Agent Rodriguez would find relevant. "It lets you in on everything, 100, from start to finish. We can't stress enough that you'll have total involvement as far as information goes, and in any instance you feel that we have lost control of the situation, your authorities becomes absolute."

Warden Turner scanned the pages of the proposal, brows knotted. "This is a highly irregular request. I can tell you straight out that the Board of Corrections will never agree to it. I'm not sure if I agree to it myself. Even if you take full responsibility for anything that may go wrong, it's _I _who has to answer for it to the Higher Government."

"Higher Government nothing," said Agent Rodriguez. She casually set aside the portfolio in a nearby table as if it were unimportant. "I disapprove of this from the onset."

"But it is a matter of planetary security," said Starfire. "Surely you would consider it worth the risk."

Agent Rodriguez chuckled, arching an amused eyebrow in Starfire's direction. "Surely?" She said it as if it was the stupidest thing she'd ever heard.

Starfire bit back a sigh.

Warden Turner shook his head. "From what you've told me, you are asking authorities like us to help you on the basis of speculation. What proof do you have that Maxwell Victoria and his employers are endangering Earth? No offense, Starfire, but I have more to fear from the Tamaranians parked over our forests and the Justice League hovering out there in space than I do with these supposed enemies of yours."

Starfire could not entirely blame the warden for his fears. As benevolent as the Justice League have been, acting within the parameters of international law, the fact remained that the league was composed of a group of powerful beings capable of overrunning the Earth with their strength. As for the "parked" mother ship of her people; as Raven remarked, it looked frightening enough hovering quiescent over the trees.

She looked at Agent Rodriguez and saw no friend. She would have to refer to the man behind the desk. "But Warden… you trust _us, _do you not? You trust the Titans?"

He smiled wanly. "You've done this city boundless good, putting away the super baddies, and I don't mean to sound ungrateful, but in a situation where a giant sludge creature rampages through the streets, law enforcers don't exactly have a choice but to let the powerful Titans take care of it. If we had the means, we would take care of it ourselves and not let meddling teenagers take the sails from us." He was speaking lightly, and perhaps he was teasing a bit, but it was half meant.

This was something Robin had tried to explain to her before; about how the government did not entirely appreciate their help. He told her it wasn't necessarily because the government felt usurped of their authority, but it was because groups such as the Justice League and the Titans rattled the structure that was meant to keep order, fragile as order was by itself.

"When the super villains are gone, _we _will become the threat," said Robin. "And while a lot of us would step down; admit that the fight's over, there will be a few who aren't going to go quietly. The government's fears aren't entirely without basis, but the fact is, it complicates matters, whether we realize it or not."

Sitting face to face with Warden Turner and feeling Agent Rodriguez's animosity, Starfire understood Robin's words a bit better.

"But there is Maxwell Victoria himself!" saud Starfire.

Agent Rodriguez shot her a glare. "Maxwell Victoria is charged with kidnapping, Murder One felony, arson, destruction of government and private property and attempting to aid the escape of a highly dangerous prisoner. He is yet to be cited for other illegal activities, all of which will require proof that we do not have. For the meantime, the present case against him is strong thanks to the evidence you gave us." She did not sound thankful at all, but she was a principled enough woman to give credit where it was due, however grudgingly she gave it. "It's likely that Victoria will be put away for life; that's one criminal off the streets. Everyday, we find criminals who slip right through our fingers, so when we do get a solid hold on one, we make sure he has no chance of getting away. We do not take the capture and incarceration of criminals lightly."

Raven nodded. "We understand that, but it doesn't change the fact that Maxwell Victoria is working for someone far more dangerous than ten of him put together and that we feel we have an obligation to eliminate that threat. You work with the District Attorney's office all the time, don't you, Agent Rodriguez?"

She frowned. "And what does that have to do with any of this?"

"Nothing, really, but you know how it is to catch a crook and have him cut a deal with the DA so that you can bag the Big Boss he's working for. Some of them still get jail time for their cooperation, some of them get their sentences considerably lessened, but there are that elite few who gain total immunity for testifying against the mob in court…"

Agent Rodriguez, surprisingly, did not seem to take offense. There was a mild disgust in her expression, but it showed only by the slight curling of her lips. "It isn't my favorite part of the job, but we do what we have to do to get to the gut of organized crime. Working from the inside-out makes us more effective as law enforcers, in the long run. Those deals were necessary."

"We're not questioning your commitment to putting the criminals away, Agent Rodriguez. I'm merely pointing out that you, of all people, would understand how we sometimes have to use the little guy to get to the big guy. Victoria has admitted to working for someone, hasn't he? And you're still trying to find the scientists he supposedly kidnapped, if they aren't already dead."

She frowned. "How did you know that?"

Starfire tried not to look so guilty for Raven. Their surveillance of the prison was not knowledge they wished to share with the warden or anyone else, but Raven didn't seem the least bit rattled. Starfire let Raven do the talking.

"I didn't," said Raven. "I just assumed from what I knew of his case; you confirmed it just now."

The agent seemed thoroughly displeased about being out-smarted. "Even so, we don't need to go to the extremes you're proposing to find out who he's working for."

Raven scoffed. "Oh? You think tracing the source of the money in his bank accounts is going to be enough? The numbers may lead you to someone, or _something, _but I promise you, they're not the ones you want. They're still answering to someone else far more dangerous, and we already know who it is. We have the means of finding them more quickly than you do _and _we might even be able to find your missing scientists; all you have to do is approve of our plans. Warden Turner, Agent Rodriguez, time is of the essence in this matter. We don't know how long before Victoria loses his importance. It's taken long enough as it is. Everything you need to know is in that proposal."

They were both silent for a moment.

Warden Turner laid the portfolio on his desk. "Then I'll need time to read this."

"Of course. You both do. We'll give you a couple of hours and we'll come back to talk about it further."

He chuckled. "Just two hours?"

"Let me explain something to you kids," said Agent Rodriguez in a clipped tone. "Unlike you, we have procedures to abide by and—"

"Your bureaucracy is a flaw in _your _system, not in _ours," _said Raven, equaling the agent's tone. "Your problem, not mine. We just want to get the job done. If red tape is your excuse, let us know now and we'll tell our leader, Robin. He'll find a way to take care of it. Right now, we don't care what _they _think. It's your full cooperation that's essential. If we can convince you, I know for a fact that you will do everything you can to convince _them, _which is why we spoke to you and not your superiors."

Warden Turner merely sighed, but Agent Rodriguez flared at the nostrils in indignation. She did not want getting talked down to by a teenager, even a super one.

Starfire spoke before the Agent said something they would all regret. She didn't want to undermine Raven's words, which were full of sense, so words to appease wouldn't do. She took a more aggressive stance, supporting Raven, but she expressed it in a gentler tone. "With all due respect, Agent Rodriguez, you realize that we could have done this without your consent. It would be more difficult for us, yes; more complicated, but we are determined, and we would find a way. Our commitment to this is absolute, but be that as it may, that would have put us in your bad graces forever. It is the same reason the Justice League continues to work within the parameters of international law. When it comes down to it, none of us want to antagonize the governments anymore than we already have, albeit unintentionally. We want to work with the law, Agent Rodriguez. It would be best for all of us that way, but make no mistake… when it comes to preserving the safety of the people of this planet we are willing to make sacrifices to the goodwill of your authorities. We will do what we have to."

Agent Rodriguez's jaw remained set and ready to fight, but she said nothing.

Warden Turner rose from his desk. "Three hours, at least. After Agent Rodriguez and I go over this, we'd like to have time to discuss it between the two of us before we take it to our respective superiors."

Starfire was willing to give the three hours, but Raven was relentless.

"Two and half," she said, turning to leave the office. "Three if you give us clearance to visit and question Victoria. I've made it clear that we don't like bureaucracy. If you can't decide in three hours, we'll go ahead and do this without you. You know we can. Then you can tell us to go to hell after we've saved the planet."

Raven's straightforward, brutal approach was not popular, but it got them what they wanted.

Warden Turner issued them clearance. They would present it to the Visit Clerk and they would spend some time with Victoria while Warden Turner and Agent Rodriguez debated the merits of their proposal.

88888888888888888888

Warden Turner's clearance allowed Starfire and Raven to visit Victoria at his cell. While he remained behind bars, it was still a much better setting than meeting with him at the visiting area, where they would be separated by glass and a ridiculous telephone they'd have to speak into.

Victoria's cell was located in an isolated section of the prison. He wasn't convicted for his crimes yet, but the crimes for which he was being charged were grave enough and the evidence against him strong enough to warrant him detainment until they proved his innocence.

He had no cellmate to harass him and there weren't any neighbors to taunt him. Nevertheless, he looked a little worn at the edges; thinner.

Starfire had watched him in his cell when they gave him his meals. He hardly touched his food.

When Victoria saw them beyond the bars, his eyes widened and he paled considerably. He didn't move from his corner.

The guard who brought them there left, telling them to give a holler when they were through.

When the guard was gone, Starfire and Raven stepped closer to the bars. Victoria flinched.

"Feeling claustrophobic yet, Victoria?" asked Raven. "Are the walls closing in?"

Starfire let the fire in her eyes glow. The green light bounced off Victoria's pallid skin.

He visibly pressed back further in his cell. "What do you want from me?"

"Same thing that everyone's been asking from you: the truth," said Raven.

"I ain't talking without a lawyer."

Raven sneered. "We're not the police, Victoria. We can damn well ask you whatever we want and do whatever we want. And if you want to save yourself from the death penalty, maybe even lessen your sentence, you'll answer our questions."

Victoria's wary eyes narrowed. "What do you mean by that? Are you cutting me a deal?"

"Nothing official at this point, you understand. As I've said, we're not the police, and we sure as hell aren't the DA, but answer our questions truthfully and maybe you'll have a future worth living after all this is done. We'll tell the authorities not to slap you with international treason, a charge that would earn you a definite death-sentence if they find you guilty of it. And maybe, if you help us enough, we can help you cut a deal with the DA to lessen whatever sentence you're up for. Believe me when I say that we are expediting the process to capture your bosses, and they're not going to cover your ass, Victoria. When your superiors are caught, you're going to be on your own, and who do you think will testify on your behalf?"

He scowled. "I already told you! She told me my research was not meant to be used on Earth! So I don't know shit about treason!"

"Who will believe you, Victoria?" asked Starfire in a dangerously calm tone. "Why would they believe you? You are a compulsive gambler who deals with the worse people in Bludhaven. You kidnapped your own friends, caused the death of several innocent people and you took money from a galactic fugitive to create weapons of mass destruction. You have no credibility. If you want to be acquitted of treason, you will need testimony from credible witnesses like us."

"Look, I just needed the money. Do you understand me? If I didn't pay off all those sharks I owed money to, they would have killed me, _slowly. _And I'm a scientist, for Christ's sake! I just wanted to do my research; apply them! What did you expect me to do?"

"Refused them!" hissed Starfire.

Victoria's face screwed into an angry grimace. "Maybe it's easy for a big-shot superhero like you to refuse them, but you don't know the life I lived! You don't know what pushed me to do the things I did! And now you want me to swallow charges of treason. Well, that's just one more delightful thing to add to my screwed up life, isn't it?"

"Then there is something you must see," said Raven, her tone clipped. She threw out a line of black power, taking Victoria in its embrace.

Victoria began to scream as Raven dragged him helplessly from his corner and towards the bars.

The guards came rushing back in, demanding that Raven let go of the prisoner.

Starfire whipped her glowing gaze at the guards. "Stop! She won't hurt him! Let her work!" Though for the life of her, she knew deep down that she could not be certain about that. She had seen Raven turn Dr. Light to a blubbering lunatic, and Robin told tales of Raven reducing Cinderblock into a crumbled pile of dust. She wasn't sure what Raven was capable of. But just now, she had to believe Raven would not harm Victoria; he was—at least—too important.

"I'm going to show you just how bad a life can get, Victoria," growled Raven.

When Victoria was close enough, she made a grab for his wrist, and to Starfire's utter shock, Raven made a grab for her wrist as well.

Starfire felt something slip into her consciousness. Like a hand stroking her emotions and catching glimpses of memories from those emotions. Her eyes saw the past in fast review, unearthing images she had long forgotten were there. There was no pain, or discomfort, but it was unlike anything she had ever felt before. It was unfamiliar, and therefore a little bit frightening, and amidst her already present doubts, she had to tell herself—desperately convince herself—that this was Raven. She _had _to trust Raven; Raven would not harm her.

The emotions and the memories that accompanied it, flashing so quickly, sapped her of strength.

Raven's grip was gone and she fell to the floor on her knees, weakened by the rush. Beyond the bars, Victoria fell beside her, sobbing and pale.

"They'll be fine," said Raven to the shocked guards. "Just bring us some chocolate and they'll be fine."

Starfire looked up, breathing deeply to regain her strength. She supposed Raven's dark gaze commanded more trust than her words could, on their own. The guards scampered away, half-frightened by Raven's bottomless eyes.

When the guards were gone, Starfire shot Raven a questioning look. "What… what in the world was that?"

"Emotions carry memories, too," said Raven, crouching beside her and lending her support. "And it enhances my powers of regression."

Starfire tried to wrack her brain for what regression meant. "Th-That is how you were able to confirm it was Slade in the monastery, yes?"

Raven nodded. "Yes. It also how I caught on to Terra quicker than the rest of you. I saw images from her emotions. With you, it happens a lot; spontaneously. You feel things passionately, so you're more open. I never probe into your emotions, but you project them like a yell. I can't help but hear them. Most times, you have memories attached to your emotions; I see those too."

Starfire looked into Raven's impassive eyes. "You… you have known of my past all this time?"

"Not everything. Some of it. I know about the slavery, and a few other scattered things. Most of them don't make sense to me, but the slavery… I thought it would be good for Victoria to understand that some people have gone through worse than he has, but that those people still chose a better path than he did. Helps that I shot him with an extra dose of shame and guilt. Nevertheless, I'm very sorry if you felt violated…"

Starfire swallowed the lump that had suddenly formed in her throat. Did she feel violated? Not really. Perhaps it was because it was Raven. Any other empath and Starfire would be outraged beyond belief. She shook her head. "N-No. It is alright. If it will help turn him—"

"I hope it does. I'd be ten times sorrier if I did what I did and it came to nothing."

Victoria crumpled on the cell floor on his side, burying his face in his hands as he wallowed in his grief.

One of the prison guards came back with some chocolate bars from the vending machine. Raven gave one to Starfire and the other to Victoria.

"Eat it," Raven ordered him after the guard left. "You'll feel better."

Sniffling and catching his breath, Victoria pushed himself off the floor and sat up, peeling the wrap from the bar. He looked warily at Starfire and then at Raven before shoving some chocolate in his mouth. Frightening as the experience for him might have been, it was surprising how he did not scurry back to the corner of his cell. He leaned against the bars, sitting as close to them as the cell bars permitted. If Starfire hadn't known better, it was almost as if Victoria considered them old friends. Perhaps getting shaken to the core did that.

Raven said nothing as she let Victoria compose himself. Starfire took the time to recover a bit.

Starfire understood that whatever dosage of shame and guilt Raven gave Victoria would wane quickly enough, but his memory of it would be potent enough to continue to work its venom on him. They would know in a while how much it affected Victoria.

Several minutes later, he finally spoke.

"What do you want to know?" he asked in a nasal tone. His nose was still stuffy from the crying.

Starfire was surprised at how quickly Raven's plan had worked.

Raven did not bat an eyelash, as if she had been sure of her plan's efficacy all along. "Does Blackfire still need you?"

Woefully, he nodded. "I have access codes for the manufacturing data. I've encrypted everything and they can get the best hacker in the planet and still be unable to crack it. They need me to give them the access codes to complete the work."

"How do you know they haven't cracked the code anyway?"

"Even if they did, I kept key elements off the readable data. It's in here," he tapped his head. "I promised them I'd give them the key elements via data transmission for the final stages of manufacturing when I was somewhere safe and away from them. I have to watch my ass somehow, you know."

"Do you still need to go back up there?"

Victoria seemed reluctant to answer at first, but he did. "Yes. There's still some stuff to do before they can get to the final stages."

"Why haven't they tried to get you out of prison, then?"

"They try not to call attention to their operations, so if they can get me back without having to blow up buildings, they'll do it that way. Xyannis tried to get me out on bail the first time, but something got screwed up. And now I'm here in Jump City where it would be very difficult for them to get to me. In any case, I wasn't really needed up there for the interim."

Starfire found the strength to be active in the discussion. "How do you contact them from Earth?"

"I'm not sure how it works. I can either call a number and leave a message or send a message via computer. The message gets to them somehow. I left them a message by phone about being denied bail, but they haven't responded. Maybe they'll be more restless in the next week. I'm due up there soon, so whatever the cost, they _have _to get me out of here."

Starfire exchanged glances with Raven.

"Do you think we should just wait for them to come?" Starfire asked.

Raven shook her head. "No. Better to have them arrive when we're expecting them. We have to be in complete control of this situation if we want this to work."

Starfire turned to Victoria. "How do they contact _you?"_

"They have no way of contacting me by phone, but by computer, I have access to a secure network where they can tell me what to do next while I'm here on Earth. You understand that I have no access to a computer around here."

"Do you work alone?" asked Raven. "Are you their only contact on Earth?"

"As far as I know."

Now that Raven brought it up, Starfire had to wonder.

"Maxwell," said Raven. The use of his first name was somewhat surprising to Starfire, but Victoria didn't seem to find it odd. Perhaps Raven was exploiting the "bonding" scenario; putting Victoria more at ease with them. It was a good strategy. "Would you be willing to admit to a bunch of federal suits that your employer paid you to build weapons of mass destruction for her?"

He frowned. "And incriminate myself? Are you nuts?"

"No, but they'll ask you about it soon. What I want to know is: What are you going to tell them?"

"Nothing. I'll tell them nothing. I've admitted to the kidnapping, just so I don't get convicted of Murder One for Greenwald and Welles, but I've got Murder One felony charges on me anyway for all those other people who died. A lot of good that did me… now you tell me I can be charged with treason. Frankly, at this point, I can get the Death Penalty with or without charges of treason. Even if I don't get the chair, I'd get life imprisonment, so what's the point? I might as well be dead."

"Your future is bleak, indeed," said Starfire. "And perhaps there is very little we can do to improve your situation. You have done terrible things, Victoria. You must realize that you have to account for them, somehow. Whatever you get, you deserve, but if indeed you are spared the death penalty and are given a life sentence, you will be given a chance to atone for what you have done. With your help, we can get back Greenwald and Welles so they can live their lives. You will be able to save millions of people from getting killed by the weapons you helped build. You will live and let go of regret just so you can endure."

Victoria sighed. "You're appealing to my conscience? You're perkier than they say you are."

She pretended she didn't hear him. "You have made weapons for my sister. She tells you they are not for Earth. Even if that is true, it still means she will use it on others. How different is Earth from other inhabited planets? You have seen my past. You met the people who made me, through my memories. You know, through me, that those people do not deserve to die any more than the people here on Earth do. I realize that my sister may have convinced you of how deserving they are of death. Her powers of persuasion are great, and she can charm anyone to do what she wants them to, but you have seen what I have seen. Do they deserve to die?"

"Your father does," he said, without question.

That caught Starfire, her stomach knotting at his words.

"But not the others," he continued softly. "Not the others…"

Starfire felt a measure of relief, however disturbing his words were. "Will you try to make it right?"

"I've never done anything for anyone else in my life."

"Perhaps it is time you did."

He looked away, staring at nothing in particular. He ate the last of his chocolate. "Maybe you're right."

Starfire met eyes with Raven. Raven nodded.

They kept Victoria company for a long while, speaking to him about things not relating to his case. They asked him about his personal life; listened to his troubles.

Starfire could tell no one had cared before. No one had bothered to ask him about _him. _He was twisted inside; scarred beyond recognition, perhaps even more than she was. After all, she had suffered her slavery for a cause she could be proud of. She had endured because she had to, for the people she loved. What cause did Victoria have to fight for? Who did he have to live for? There was no cause, and there was nobody. He had nothing but his suffering, and it lasted him fourteen years. Starfire was not sure she could have endured it any better than he did if they had switched situations.

Whatever punishment he received, he indeed deserved, but he was not beyond redemption. His eyes were not made of evil. And contrary to what he said, he did have a conscience considerable enough to merit him a chance to live, even if it was within a cage. Perhaps four decades in prison could undo what the past fourteen years have wrought.

He talked openly about himself, and they stayed with him until the Warden called them back into his office.

Raven and Starfire met with Warden Turner and Agent Rodriguez again. They'd only had time to read the proposal, but they had to admit everything was sound except for the taxpayer-repercussion factor.

"The people will kick up a fuss when they find out this is a Titan stunt," said the Warden. "All those guards on overtime, probably even a SWAT team… choppers, police cars. If only for that, I don't know if my superiors would go for this."

"And I'd have a hard time convincing my bosses that this is for the sake of Planetary Security," said Agent Rodriguez.

"We realize the difficulties involved when it comes to getting your superiors to go with this," said Raven. "But if you ask Maxwell Victoria about what his employer paid him to do, they might change their minds. Match his testimony with the evidence you have at present from the toy company incident and the Plasmus incident, you might find enough to convince your superiors."

Warden Turner and Agent Rodriguez exchanged glances. The agent nodded.

"You'll have our answer tonight," said Warden Turner. "We'll contact you at your tower."

Raven nodded. "Good enough."

The left the prison facility, their task done to the best of their abilities.

Now, it was just a matter of waiting.

88888888888888888888888

Starfire left Raven at the garage with Cyborg and Beast Boy when they got back to the tower. They were working on a pulse generator, and Cyborg was configuring it for a specific purpose. He needed extra help, mostly because Beast Boy wasn't exactly a dependable mechanic. Raven's help was most welcome, especially since Raven and Cyborg had worked together on such things before. Starfire would have stayed if she hadn't been slightly anxious about what Robin and Karras had talked about.

While she wasn't entirely keen about the two being chummy, she didn't want them to be enemies, either. She never would have thought Robin capable of unfounded animosity for someone, especially on account of her, but after having seen him so angry earlier, she wasn't quite so sure anymore.

When she arrived at the multi-purpose level, Robin was typing intently in his workstation while Galfore and Karras stood in the background, discussing something with lowered voices.

Starfire wondered if Galfore had been told about her keeping Xyannis a secret from Karras. She wasn't worried about Galfore getting angry, though. He wouldn't get angry at her for something like this. She was more worried about disappointing him. She never wanted to disappoint Galfore.

Whatever the situation, she would deal with it after she spoke to Robin. He would want a report of what happened in the correctional facility.

True enough, when she sat beside him, he stopped what he was doing. "How'd your meeting go?"

"As well as we can hope for," she replied. "We still cannot be sure if they will agree with the proposal, but I am optimistic. They will contact us later for their decision. We will be sure, then."

Robin nodded. "Did you talk to Victoria?"

"Yes. He was very responsive."

His eyebrow arched ever so slightly. He didn't ask what she meant by "responsive", exactly. All he cared about at that point was a favorable report. He could deal with the consequences, later. "Good work. If all goes according to plan, we _just might _pull this off. Did you happen to see Cyborg on your way up here?"

She nodded. "He was with Beast Boy. Raven stayed with them to help."

"Excellent. If Warden Turner and Agent Rodriguez give us permission tonight, we can head on out at midnight to install the pulse generator. I've been making arrangements with the Justice League not to interfere unless we send out a distress call and I managed to get that end of the red-tape covered."

Starfire began to wonder about this "red-tape". So far, she had heard it mentioned twice, today. "Robin, what is this tape that is red and why does it seem to be such a problem?"

He chuckled. "It's an expression for any official routine or procedure that's excessively complex and results in delay or inaction. Way back then, in England, thick legal documents were bound and tied by red cloth tape. If you wanted to find something in the documentation by reading through the thick pile, you literally had to cut through the 'red tape'."

Her eyes lit up in recognition. "In my planet, we have an expression for such a thing as well, but if you dare to subject the Grand Ruler to such a thing, it can warrant the offender a death sentence."

Robin winced. "That's one way to cut through it."

She grinned as innocently as she could, seeing that there was an opportunity to catch Robin off guard. "How did your meeting with Karras go?"

There was no change whatsoever to his facial expression. "Perfectly."

It was infuriating that nothing got past their fearless leader. She can never be as impassive as he was.

She frowned for a second before she managed to recompose himself. "What did you talk about with him, anyway?"

He shrugged, going back to work on his panel. "Guy stuff."

She bristled. "What is this 'guy' stuff? I do not know what it means."

"It means stuff that only guys can understand and my girlfriend can't."

Her eyes flashed. _"I _cannot understand?"

"Well… you and other girlfriends in general. Look, I've got work to do. I think Cyborg can use all the help he can get."

Starfire grit her teeth. "Are you dismissing me?"

Robin gestured to his computer monitor. "Star, we've got a planet to save, so… yeah, I am. Sorry."

"Fine," she hissed with deadly calm, rising from her seat.

He sighed but went back to work.

She couldn't believe he was going to let her walk out on him. She started to leave. He wasn't calling her back. It only made her madder. Naturally, she went right for Karras.

She clapped him on his shoulder.

He turned and she was completely astonished by the broad dark bruise surrounding his eye.

She blinked, and the concept of "guy stuff" became all too clear. "You look terrible."

He frowned. "Thank you."

Galfore smiled. "It is my understanding that you children have not been playing nice in the last few hours."

The blush that spread through Karras's face amidst the bruise confirmed to Starfire that he had told Galfore everything.

"I was under the impression that you were letting Karras do whatever he wanted," said Starfire. "Robin heard the commotion in the hallway through his door. I could only assume you heard everything as well."

"I was not in my room when the incident happened," said Galfore, chuckling. "I was up on the rooftop, continuing my training by myself. I sent Karras to my room to get something of his… all in all, let us just say I am pleased by how Robin handled the situation, even if I—ahem—might have handled it differently. He is turning out to be a worthy _s'lor__." _

Galfore's words were a tad discomfiting. She tried to get her thoughts reorganized.

She looked at Karras. "Did Robin do that to you?"

Karras narrowed his gaze at her. "That question is irrelevant in light of what is happening right now."

That was answer enough for Starfire. She would deal with Robin later. "Indeed. So will working with Robin be a problem for you from hereon?"

"Why don't you let _me _worry about that," said Karras with an acidic smile. "Mmm 'k?"

"Karras, if any of this gets in the way of capturing Blackfire and Xyannis—"

"It will not. I do suggest, Starfire, that you defer to your captain the way I defer to mine. The mission, I think, will go more smoothly that way."

Starfire looked to Galfore for an answer, ignoring the way Karras rolled his eyes.

Galfore made a soothing gesture in Karras' direction. "Karras, go on ahead to the ship and try to see if you can begin coordinating with the unit. There is a lot to be done."

For a moment, Karras could only stare, but then he nodded. "Understood, captain." He left, holding Starfire's hostile glare with his own until he disappeared behind the closing elevator doors.

Galfore began to speak to Starfire in Tamaranian. "You are being difficult, poppet." He was smiling when he said it, but she did note the hint of reproach. It made her blush, and perhaps she did realize she was acting just a tad childish. The use of Galfore's favorite endearment _"bumgorf" _only made it more embarrassing.

She pouted, replying to Galfore in the same language. "Karras told you everything that happened?"

"Yes. He left nothing out. He told me how he treated you."

"It was not all his fault. It was a secret I should not have kept from him and his family."

Galfore chuckled. "Oh, believe me, Koriand'r, I understand that much. The wrong in this was more yours than his."

Starfire felt a tad betrayed. Was not Galfore supposed to be on her side? But on second thought, she realized that Galfore _was _being on her side; he was teaching her what was right by telling her where she went wrong. She looked at the floor, shamefaced. "I—I know that now. I will make amends…"

"Of course you will! You shall start by trusting Karras's ability to get his work done. I know you still think he got to where he was by some royal influence, but I would not have taken him into my unit if I believed it in the slightest. He is a good soldier. I am proud to be his captain."

She sighed, nodding. "And what else, Galfore? What would you have me do?"

He laughed again, draping an arm over her shoulders and shaking her affectionately. "That is all I will ask of you. The rest you will have to figure out by yourself. You are not nine years old anymore, Koriand'r. You have managed to get by on your own these last few years without me, so I have the utmost faith in your ability to do the right thing. I will always be your guardian, but my days of making you stand in the corner are over. You understand what I am telling you, Koriand'r?"

Starfire did, and she was surprised at the dull ache in her heart at hearing his words. She—in no way—felt that he was abandoning her. In fact, she was honored that he believed in her to be grown up enough to make her own adult decisions, but there was something about being someone's special "poppet" and then _not being that anymore _that made her tear up ever so slightly. She was no longer Galfore's little girl. It almost made her want to curl up on his lap with her stuffed purple _wooknah_.

It was funny how having Galfore back for just a few days had restored her instinct to turn to a parent-figure when things got a bit shaky, and perhaps in her own way, feeling that security again had made her want to extend the feeling for however long she could, but now she had to realize that with or without Galfore, she had, indeed, grown-up. It was time to accept it.

"I understand," she said, smiling with a slight quiver to her lip. "But Galfore… you will still give me advice when I need it, yes?"

"When you ask for it, I will give it."

She looked over her shoulder at Robin worriedly. "Do you think I should interfere with Robin and Karras's issues with each other?"

Galfore chuckled again. He patted her shoulder. "Poppet, do you remember how it was with the male _wooknah_around the palace?"

Starfire nodded. _Wooknah_were like the Earth dogs, except they were more of a dog-cat hybrid of sorts. Some of their many species in the planet were ideal for pets. The most expensive of the pet breeds, the one royal families like hers were expected to keep, was also the most exotic, and perhaps more instinctual than its more domesticated cousins.

She remembered the six male _wooknah_they kept.

They were beautiful, and all of them were shamelessly spoiled. They were the most darling of animals, purring and rolling on their backs when they were with their humans, but amongst each other, especially when they reached puberty, they fought viciously for alpha rights. They never managed to kill each other, but only because their handlers always pulled them apart before they could. For this reason alone, their fights for alpha were often prolonged to months-long feuds. The alpha was usually decided within half a planetary revolution, or half a year, but the fight for beta would extend the fighting among underlings.

Starfire frowned. "Are you saying Robin and Karras are fighting for alpha?"

This made Galfore laughed. "Not really, but when the fights end, they would come to a decision; a decision they can both be comfortable with. It is the only way for them to settle their differences, after all."

"Humph. Ridiculous."

"Not so ridiculous. It is, after all, how you seem to be settling things with Karras, or am I wrong?"

She opened her mouth to protest but stopped herself on time. She was in no place to deny him.

8888888888888888

The moon was never quite so bright when you lived near a city. With the buildings and towers lit up at night, the city skyline made the stars and moon pale in comparison. But farther from the urban glare, where the only light was the pale glow of lunar illumination from above, the stars surrounding the moon were a spectacular display.

Starfire could not help but look up, momentarily distracted by the breathtaking star spangled night.

"Um… Stafire? Some help here?" It was Cyborg. He was carrying one end of the pulse generator while she carried the other. She was drooping on her end.

"I apologize!" she cried, feeling the heat rise in her cheeks.

In the distance, Raven and Beast Boy worked together to hollow out a crevice through the thick rock of the San Mateo fault-line.

"Problem?" came Robin's voice over Cyborg's radio.

Robin stayed at the tower to monitor the frequency emissions of the pulse generator once the machine was in operation. His direction and coordination with them would be done by audio. It would be sufficient enough to get their task done.

Cyborg grinned as he looked at Starfire above the pulse generator. "We're cool, aren't we, Star?"

She blushed even deeper, chuckling. "I have been daydreaming. I am sorry."

"Clear skies, brilliant moon, twinkling stars… what's not to daydream about?" said Cyborg, winking at her.

"What, indeed," said Robin over the radio. "Must—er—be pretty nice out there."

Starfire couldn't help but be mildly surprised by Robin's words. She had expected him to admonish her. Robin was not the kind of person to let minds wander when there was an important mission to be finished. As she looked at Cyborg, she could tell he was a bit surprised himself. They exchanged glances. Cyborg shrugged.

"It is very nice, Robin," said Starfire. "I wish you can see this… are you alright? You sound rather—"

"I'm fine. Anyway, Starfire, you can daydream all you want later," said Robin evenly. "Right now we have work to do."

_That _was the Robin she was looking for and she was inclined to believe that his slightly strange behavior can be attributed to all the stress he has had to deal with the past week. It did, however concern her that the reality was that Robin was quite good at handling stress.

_Maybe not these days._

She stifled a sigh. So maybe he was a bit "out of whack" this week.

Starfire tried to regain her good mood and mostly succeeded. She smiled. "Of course. I shall focus from now on. I promise."

They hurried on with their task, getting the bulky pulse generator into the cavern and powering it to begin their adjustments. Cyborg attached the monitors to long wires that reached the mouth of the cavern. When the machine was secure within the cave, they moved the cleared rocks back into the cave, camouflaging the tampered landscape. The connected monitors remained outside, and with radio communication, Cyborg and Robin made adjustment to the readings.

When the machine was working the way it was supposed to, Cyborg hid the monitors from view. All the equipment should be virtually untraceable.

"The pulse generator's got its own cloaking device," explained Cyborg. "It should be invisible to any satellite imaging equipment they're using."

"Good," said Robin over the radio. "Stage one is complete and I just received the formal written authorization of Agent Rodriguez to proceed with the plan. I know they gave their spoken approval at dinner, but I'm more comfortable when things are written down."

Starfire gave Raven a thumbs down and a wink. "Boooo-YAH!"

Raven turned her thumb upward.

Robin continued. "Whatever Raven and Starfire did out there this afternoon, it worked. Congratulations, you two. You'll be on my good side in the next three days."

"That's the whole purpose of living, of course," muttered Raven. "To get on his good side."

Starfire giggled and nudged her to be quiet.

"That's not very fair to you," said Beast Boy to Starfire. "You're always on his good side, so telling you you'll be on his good side is a lame-o, redundant prize, don't you think? You should—like—get something else—"

"I can hear you, Beast Boy," said Robin.

"Well, it's true! You should give Starfire a MoPed. She'd really like that, won't you Star?"

Starfire tried to take it in stride as well as the others do when they were called to support at a moment's notice. "Oh, yes. I always dreamed of a MoPed."

"Rrright," said Robin. "I can practically see Beast Boy wink-winking and nudge-nudging you, Starfire."

Beast Boy looked affronted. "What'd I do?"

Cyborg chuckled. "Getting back to the mission… anything else you need for us to do, Rob?"

"Give me a second," he replied. There was a noticeable silence, like Robin had put them on hold.

They waited, and Starfire realized it was taking a bit too long for Robin to respond when she and the Titans begun to look at each other uncertainly, as if asking each other: "So, are we just supposed to stand here?"

Finally, after an extended number of minutes, Cyborg tapped on his radio again. "Er—Robin? You there, bro?"

Seconds later, Robin's voice came through the speaker again. "Yeah. So… I'm getting the munchies. Why don't you and the team get some pizza on your way back."

Cyborg, Raven and Starfire's eyebrows raised in unison, but Beast Boy found nothing wrong with it in the least.

"Whoohoo! You read my mind, Robin! You're the best leader, ever." Beast Boy turned in the direction of the car. "Titans, go!"

"Robin," said Raven, ignoring Beast Boy. "It's midnight. The pizza places are closed."

"Not the one in uptown Jump City."

Starfire shot a questioning glance at Raven and Cyborg. "You mean Raymond's?"

"Yeah, that one. You liked their pizza, didn't you, Starfire? You said you loved their pepperoni. Get that, then."

"Robin, what is going on?"

"Yeah, man," said Cyborg. "Are you smoking something over there?"

"Just get the pizza," said Robin tiredly. "Over and out."

The line went dead.

Cyborg, still looking a bit nonplussed, shrugged and began heading for the car. "You heard the man."

Raven followed him. "Star, your weirdness is rubbing off on him."

Starfire frowned. "My _weirdness _is not as weird as _that."_

"Dude has the munchies. It's perfectly normal," said Beast Boy.

Raven scoffed. "Yeah, if you're high on doobie."

"Please… where is doobie and how high up is it?"

Raven shot her a withering glance. Starfire decided not to insist on the point.

With Starfire carrying Cyborg, they flew out of the fault-line. It was going to be a long drive to Raymond's Pizza.

_To be continued…_

* * *

Author's note: I'm REALLY sorry this took so long. Thanks to follow. 


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